What Does New York Feel about Eliot Spitzer Now?

If you haven't seen or heard already, New York State's Governor, Eliot Spitzer, has found himself linked to a sex ring. At first glance, this doesn't seem like that big of a deal, since he was known as the Eliot Ness of the Attorney General's office. He was well known for "rooting out corruption, busting white-collar criminals and tackling organized crime." (CNN) What has come to pass, however, is that this time, Spitzer's name is attached to a sex ring as a client.

That's right, our esteemed Governor, Eliot Spitzer has acknowledged that he "disappointed and failed to live up to the standard" (New York Times) that he had set for himself. He does not specifically state what he has done, but he is being accused of using the services of a professional escort. Spitzer apologized to his wife and family, as well as the public for his indiscretions, but he has not stepped down from office as most expected him to do when the story first broke in the New York Times. He may, but at this time, he remains seated as Governor.

As a resident of the state of New York, I'm not moved as much as others are by this news. I feel that all politicians have a skeleton or two in their closet. Every human being has one or two as well, but most people think that because politicians, like celebrities, are to be put up on a pedestal and scrutinized for everything they do. I think that we need to stop and realize that everyone, in essence, is cut from the same cloth. We are all flesh and blood, human beings who, from time to time, do stupid things.

Being the Governor of the state doesn't change the fact that he is human underneath it all. If anything, this indiscretion proves that even people that are in government are still fallible. They are just as susceptible to making mistakes like the rest of us.

Now, that is not to say that I approve of his actions. That is far from how I feel about what he's done. I feel that, as a married man, he put himself and his family at risk for multiple things, including sexually transmitted diseases and possible unwanted pregnancies. Beyond that, he was unfaithful to his wife and family. Any man or woman who is unfaithful to a partner is, in essence, being unfaithful to themselves. They are leading a false life, even if it is only a one time occurrence. They are going to be living a life of lies, which always end up coming out in the end, causing distrust.

In this case, there is going to be a lot of distrust for Spitzer to face, not only from his wife and family, but from the residents of the state of New York. If he could so easily lie to his wife about being with other women, what's to say that he hasn't lied about other things, things that can impact the entire state. No one can really know the true extent of what Spitzer has done with this indiscretion. Has he used government money to pay for his trysts with the escorts?

I think the question that weighs in my mind, after it's all said and done, is the following. If we can't trust the Governor, whom can we trust? Is there anyone out there who isn't afraid of showing the people the skeletons in the closet and being honest from the get go?

Sources:
CNN: http://www.cnn.com
New York Times: http://www.newyorktimes.com