The Way It's Supposed to Work

Eliot Spitzer, the "untouchable" governor of New York, has resigned over the fallout from questionably-motivated Hookergate investigation.

Okay, regardless of the fact that Spitzer was obviously singled out for investigation because of the many enemies he'd managed to make, both during his term as New York's attorney general and as a sworn enemy of Wall Street corporatist corruption, regardless of the fact that those "questionable" withdrawals from his bank accounts wouldn't have gotten a second look if he were, say, Merrill-Lynch honcho and huge Rethug cash donor John Thain, and regardless of the fact that the "Federal Case" against him rests on an archaic -- some would say sophistic -- interpretation of the racially-based 1910 Mann Act, the fact remains, bottom line, that Spitzer, the erstwhile paragon of virtue, was guilty of consorting with prostitutes, to the tune of, by some estimates, $80,000 or more.

But, and here's the big difference between Spitzer and Rethugs like Larry Craig and David Vitter, Spitzer (like notorious Rethug child molester Mark Foley) did the right thing and resigned.

That's not something you'll see very often from the Rethug camp -- someone willing to man up, admit his mistakes and take responsibility for them. Take a hint, Larry and Dave -- this is the way things are supposed to work when a public official violates the trust that the people have empowered him with.