Spitzer Swallowed By Scandal; NYT: Aides Say He's Working Out a Deal But on His Way Out
UPDATE: Lt. Governor On Way To State Capital
Update to Update: Even More Likely Meaningless Than I Thought

Above the Post Update: Quarterback is in motion, repeat, Quarterback is in motion...

Sources tell CBS 6 that Lieutenant Governor David Paterson has left his home in Schenectady and is en route to the state Capitol.

...

The lieutenant governor will step into the position of governor if Spitzer resigns. Sources say Paterson has been preparing to make the transition since the possibility of Spitzer's resignation was raised yesterday.

May or may not be the end. But this is of course a necessary step when Spitzer is about to step down.

Thanks to Mark.

Update: DrewM. knows considerably more about NYS politics than I do (which is rather easy, as I know nothing) and he says the media are just being idiots with this-- Patterson is supposed to come into work, as he presides over the state senate.

In fact, he's scheduled to preside over the senate at 3 pm today, so his leaving for work at 1pm is... um, normal.

I guess I should note here that the media is being idiots but DrewM figured this out in three seconds based on his knowledge and a quick google-search.

I should note that, but having been an idiot myself, it stings.

...

Well, of course.

Allah finds it strange that his wife seems one of the few in his inner cockring circle to suggest he might want to stay on. If I had to guess, I'd say her thinking is along the lines of that suggested by sports commentators regarding Brett Favre's retirement: He shouldn't let that boneheaded interception be the period at the end of his NFL story. Similarly, I guess, Ms. Spitzer probably doesn't want her exit from the public stage to be that of her standing in abject humiliation by her unsafe-sex whoremonger of a husband.

I'd imagine she wants to Spitzer to rehabilitate himself publicly, and thereby rehabilitate her out of humiliation as well.

Karol meanwhile wants to know what kind of woman would stand by her husband in such a situation. Literally stand by him; figuratively standing by him is understandable.

Charles Krauthammer opined on Hume's show that while Spitzer's slut-banging and money-laundering (allegedly... but who are we kidding) was odious, it was him asking -- or even allowing -- his wife to stand publicly by him for that humiliation which constituted "a hanging offense."

S'true: Even if a wife offers to do such a thing, a husband really ought to forbid her from doing so. The fact that she's even willing to suffer additional humiliation and heartbreak for the sake of her husband should be the prime reason he refuses to allow her to subject herself to that.

He didn't have her by her side when he was having unsafe sex with a hooker on Valentine's Day; he shouldn't ask to have her by his side as he faces the cameras.

Or perhaps he should have just paid "Kristen" a few grand for the photo op.

On the hypocrisy front, by the way, the MSM had great fun at David Vitter's wife's expense when she appeared with her husband.

One difference there, though: Mrs. Vitter had learned of her husband's whoring "several years ago" and had already forgiven him. Presumably he'd stopped all that; can't imagine his wife allows him as much leash as he once enjoyed.

So yes, that was certainly humiliating for her. But it was also a rather old wound which had had time to heal over. Mrs. Vitter could appear not just as a betrayed wife, but as a betrayed wife who had reined her straying husband in and (presumably) rescued their marriage through forgiveness. And punishment.

Did Ms. Spitzer already forgive her husband?

Well... the latest trollophump was just three weeks ago. Think he told her what his Valentine's Day activities had been before a few days ago? Think she's had time to reflect and forgive?

If the answer's yes, then she's not the sort of wife one typically imagines.

Indeed, if the answer's yes, she's the greatest goddamned wife to ever walk the face of the earth.

Walking It Back: The NYT has apparently now backtracked its claim about Spitzer's aides a bit now. But the previous headline (see bottom of post) said they "expect" Spitzer to resign.

Oh... Didn't Larry Craig trot out his wife/beard too? I think he did.

It really is quite a good point. It's one thing for a man to stray. That's betrayal enough, but people (men and women) are often incapable of thinking clearly, or behaving properly, when sex is on the line.

But to bring out the wife for such humiliation at a presser? Sex may sometimes overwhelm one's judgment and morality, but can we extend this I-wasn't-in-my-right-mind to pure political ambition.

Her Motivation: Some are suggesting she's married to the power, not to the man. That's possible, but it's also possible she's just a stunned, jilted, heartbroken woman, so finding fault in that situation would be adding insult to injury.

Sure, it's possible that she's just seeking to preserve something of selfish value to her -- a marriage to a rich, high-status man which in turn grants her status -- but it's also possible just saw a considerable swath of the real estate of her world coming crashing down all around her and doesn't know what the hell to do or think.

It's just an undeniable fact that anyone being cheated on is relatively easy to lie to. They want to believe. The are, sadly, the easiest marks in the most brutal sort of confidence game. The cheated-upon never fully believes the lies of the cheater, but he or she does entertain them as far, far more plausible than any rational outside observer would.

In addition, unless Reversal of Fortune has lied to me (and why would it? I've been nothing but nice to it), there's another consideration: People can often embrace the European Model of fidelity -- which is to say, infidelity -- but with the proviso that the cheating spouse never dabble in one's own social circles nor become romantically attached to the outside lover such as to actually threaten the emotional relationship. "Kristen," being a call girl (even if a very beautiful and charming one, I'm guessing) is still obviously Not-Quite-Our-Class-Dear for the very rich Spitzers, and is hence viewed by the wife as a sexual threat, but not a romantic threat. She may be more willing to forgive his whoring knowing it's purely physical and not what she considers a true threat to the marriage.

Women seem to fear the romantic/emotional threat more than the physical one at least as compared to men. Oh, women sure the hell are not happy about physical betrayals, and men are not happy about purely "emotional cheating" either, but women do seem a bit more forgiving of the actual physical act of betrayal.

So she might have stood by her man for any number of reasons. Including the hope that he's telling the truth when he says it's just a mistake, and a meaningless one, and that he'll never do it again.

But he should never, never have allowed her to stand by him.

More: Will He Try To Remain Governor? It's a bit like solving a kidnapping -- if it's not solved in 24 hours the odds it will ever be solved quickly diminish towards zero.

Hot Air wonders if Spitzer will attempt to tough it out a la Bill Clinton and Larry Craig.

While it's most likely Spitzer is bartering with federal prosecutors to free him of legal jeopardy should he resign, every moment of delay on this makes it more and more likely he'll decide he's taken the worst of the beating and can probably recover from the bruises.

However, the entire New York state law enforcement system is compromised by t his; there are many conflicts of interest should any state's attorney or cop open a file on the Emperor's Club, which, by the way, is almost certainly protected by/paying tribute to the mob. So the feds are very nearly obligated to prosecute Spitzer, simply because his dual role as Chief Law Enforcement Officer and Chief Criminal of New York require an outside agency to do something.

And that is going to still be there, whether Spitzer thinks he can ride out the political storm or not.

Funny Spitzer Ad:

Trustworthy Street, Honesty Avenue, Integrity Lane, Responsibility Road... funny he never mentioned Unprotected Anal Sex with a Hooker Alley, huh?

But I guess that's the Republicans' fault, for forbidding important real-world-relevant sex ed in grade schools.

UPDATE: Lt. Governor On Way To State Capital
Update to Update: Even More Likely Meaningless Than I Thought&bodytext=Above the Post Update: Quarterback is in motion, repeat, Quarterback is in motion... Sources tell CBS 6 that Lieutenant Governor David Paterson has left his home in Schenectady and is en route to the state Capitol. ... The lieutenant governor...&topic=world_news"> posted by Ace at 01:30 PM

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