Love Potion No. 9

If you've been living under a rock, you may not have heard that New York Governor Eliot Spitzer held a news conference yesterday to publicly apologize to his family and constituents for his involvement in a federal prostitution bust. Apparently the court paperwork filed last week did not specifically name Spitzer, but Feds say he was caught on wiretap, as "Client 9," confirming payment and travel arrangements for a prostitute working for the high-end Emperor's Club V.I.P.

In his apology yesterday, Spitzer did not confirm or deny the accusations, but he did say, "I have acted in a way that violates my obligations to my family and violates my, or any, sense of right and wrong. I apologize first and most importantly to my family. I apologize to the public to whom I promised better."

No word yet on whether or not he'll resign. All Spitzer said was, "I have disappointed and failed to live up to the standard I expected of myself. I must now dedicate some time to regain the trust of my family." You can read more and watch a video of the apology from the New York Times here.

Perhaps we'll learn his political fate later today. But, this whole thing gets me thinking: How much do we or should we care about what politicos do behind closed doors? Obviously, if guilty, Spitzer's acts were illegal and therefore intolerable from an official — but what about infidelity without prostitution? What do we make of John McCain's rumored affair? Now, years later, what do we think of Clinton's hummer in the Oval Office? Think it's affecting Hil's campaign?

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MM