Spitzer: high road from a low spot

Resignation speech was a class act

By Tom Kovach

Although my home is once again in the South, I did live for a lot of years in Upstate New York. And, during part of that time, Elliott Spitzer was the attorney general of the state. For the most part, I found him to be a Left-leaning, patriot-disdaining, Democrat apparatchik. In short, we had little in common. (Although, to his credit, he did institute certain programs to aggressively protect citizens from fraudulent business practices. Those were not merely shady construction contractors or scam artists. He also went after the big fish, which is how he got the nickname "The Sheriff of Wall Street.") When he became governor, I was glad that New York was a place that I would only visit occasionally from now on. His effort to issue driver's licenses to illegal aliens is a quintessential example of his idea of a "solution" to social problems. (Apparently, the illegal presence of millions of people that take jobs away from American workers is not a problem for that former attorney general.)

All that said, however, I must tell you that I very much respect the way that now-resigned NY Governor Elliott Spitzer made the best of a bad situation.

"... for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God ..." (Romans 3:23)

Over the past few days, many have pontificated about Mr. Spitzer's misdeeds, which involved secret trips to visit a high-priced prostitution service. As I type this column, his resignation speech is only a couple of hours old. The speech has already caught many by surprise, because of its candor and human transparency. There isn't really much to say about it, because he said it so plainly. And that, dear readers, is a point to be admired in this sad chain of events.

Some people claim that it is "shocking" that Spitzer had a sexual affair. Having spent considerable time dealing with legislatures in two states (NY and TN), plus Congress, I can tell you that legislative power is a "girl magnet." In some cases, good-looking women get jobs in the halls of power for the specific purpose of being able to throw themselves at men that they perceive will provide them with some material comforts in return. It should not be that way, but it is. For some people, sex is a part of schmooze, and schmooze is a part of politics. (Because I'm not a glad-hander — and, thus, not a good target for such self-serving "hitter chicks" — some people view me as "unelectable." But, a growing percentage of our population is now figuring out that glad-handers are the ones that got us into trouble in the first place.)

So, while others might condemn Spitzer as "weak" or as having "betrayed his family," I look beyond that. People in high positions of government power are subjected to a much higher degree of temptations, precisely because other people want to use sex as a lever (or a weapon) to acquire something else that they actually want. Most of the people pointing fingers at Mr. Spitzer would not have lasted as long as he did in the crucible of such temptation. (And, we don't know what, if any, medical conditions might have contributed to the situation.) That is not to say that he was right; it is only to say that he is human. And, we humans stumble from time to time.

One of my favorite sayings from my military career was "lead by example". Although many will deride him for not being a better example in his private life, the man was elected for what he would do in his public life. In the text of his resignation speech, Governor Spitzer led by example. Among several other salient remarks, he said, "Over the course of my public life, I've insisted, I think correctly, that people regardless of their position or power take responsibility for their conduct. I can and will ask no less of myself." In other words, when it got too hot, he left the kitchen. Oh, that some other people in politics would have done likewise.

I listened to the speech live during the program of one of my talk-radio colleagues. The host said exactly what I was thinking. To his great credit, he called for people to pray for Mr. Spitzer and his family. (And, I did.) There will be a lot of healing needed. Based upon the news photos of a loyal Mrs. Spitzer standing by her husband as he resigned the office of governor, I'd say that many prayers have already taken effect.

It is terribly ironic that, by the way he handled his resignation, Elliott Spitzer just might have proven that he has the type of character that should not have resigned. I still don't like some of his politics, but I have a much better appreciation and respect for the man. He managed to take the high road out of a low spot.

© Tom Kovach