Love Potion Numba 9

Published April 1, 2008

By David Volain

Over the past ten years, the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut tri-state area has seen its fair share of gubernatorial scandals.

By now, I’m sure everyone has heard of the drama surrounding New York’s recently departed governor, Eliot Spitzer. Just in case you’ve been living in a cave, here’s a quick rundown. Previous to his governorship, Spitzer was the state’s Attorney General, known for his high moral standard, and lack of sympathy towards those who did not meet it. Spitzer cracked down on white collar crime, and created many enemies on Wall Street. In 2006, he ran a successful campaign for governor.

Unfortunately for Spitzer, his personal proclivity for prostitutes was revealed via audio tapes and he was forced to resign from office. The woman, a young aspiring musician by the name of Ashley Alexandra Dupré worked under the pseudonym Kristen. If you want to subject yourself to it, you can hear her recorded tracks on Myspace.

In 2004, New Jersey’s Governor Jim McGreevey was faced with a sexual harassment lawsuit. The scandal resulted in McGreevey’s revealing his homosexuality, and an extramarital affair with a man, which eventually lead to his resignation. In light of the recent Spitzer scandal, McGreevey’s story has returned to the spotlight. New testimony has been brought forth suggesting that Mrs. McGreevey was aware of the governor’s sexual preferences and extramarital promiscuity, because the couple would often engage in threesomes with another man.

In Connecticut, Governor John Rowland was found to be guilty of receiving kickbacks in the form of cabinets installed in his vacation cottage. Rowland resigned, and after a lengthy investigation, was found guilty.

David Patterson, the new governor of New York, has been celebrated as both the first African-American and legally blind governor of New York. Now, he is receiving attention of a different nature. Patterson recently admitted to having smoked marijuana and snorted cocaine during his college years. He noted that it was not a habitual activity, but that he tried it on several occasions.

He also admitted to having had numerous sexual affairs. The incident seems to support the idea that the only sin left in American public life is hypocrisy. More and more often, such activities are deemed acceptable as long as the offender comes clean about it. This all points to the idea that the American public simply enjoys the entertainment value of such incriminating findings.

Alan Dershowitz recently wrote about the American interest in the Spitzer situation, noting that politicians as public figures are treated in the same regard as pop stars and professional athletes. The actual details including how much he spent, the identity of the prostitute, and whether or not Eliot and Silda are still sleeping in the same bed, are not matters of public safety but are still of public interest. Britney Spears took a little Vay-Cay and Eliot Spitzer has filled the void. While riding on Metro-North over spring break I overheard the line, “Well, at least she’s better looking than Monica Lewinsky.” But are we, the American public, actually interested in the Spitzer scandal due to his status as a law breaker, or because Nip/Tuck is over for the season?

I understand that because they’re our leaders, we would like politicians to be held to a high moral standard, and that law breakers should be prosecuted, no matter who they are. This seems especially apparent because other interviewed politicians are still not willing to discuss whether or not Spitzer, possibly the largest hypocrite in New York political history, will be prosecuted. In my opinion you can save the drama fo’ yo mama, and a nice cell for Mr. Spitzer. Politicians are public figures, they are celebrities, but they are still citizens of the same society as everyone else, and should be treated as such under the law.

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