Spitzer and all the other crumb-bum husbands

As a Democrat and a New Yorker, I can only say that I'm mightily angered by the news today that Gov. Elliot Spitzer stands revealed as just another dumb pol who can't keep his pants zipped. Andrew Leonard says it all in Salon:

"If I needed yet another lesson in why hero worship is always, invariably, a bad and stupid idea, I could not ask for one delivered to me on a bigger silver platter. The stupidity and arrogance implicit in Spitzer's alleged involvement in a prostitution ring -- which he hasn't yet explicitly admitted to, but most certainly did not deny -- betrays not just the trust of his family, but also of those who supported him for fighting the good fight. He's not the man we thought he was -- and in a profoundly depressing way, it somehow makes us a little less than we thought we were, for having bought into his chivalry. It is a monumental fall from grace."

That stuff about betraying the trust of his family is a quote from Spitzer's lame-assed statement to the press: "I acted in a way that violated my obligation to my family."

I mean, what the hell does that mean anyway? It's always the same with these scumbags. They carry on secretly like horny little piggies and when they're caught they drag their hapless wives in front of the cameras for a mea-culpa-but-not-really. See? I can't be so bad because my wife is still here. They force us all to endure statements of such tortured syntax in order to avoid, at all costs, stating the plain truth: They are cheating, lying scum who've betrayed not just their "obligation" but their wives and children.

Whether they're booking female prostitutes like Spitzer and Vitter, or living a secret life of trolling for gay prostitutes like Craig and McGreevey, they all drag their wives in front of the cameras. What must it be like to be so publicly embarrassed and humiliated?

In this situation, I can only commend Hillary Clinton who was so infamously humiliated by the Cheater-in-Chief. I don't recall her hurrying to face the cameras hand-in-hand with Bill. She made no secret of her anger. The iconic image of that troubled time in their marriage was the walk across the White House lawn to a waiting helicopter. Bill was surely in the dog house with Buddy the Lab, and daughter Chelsea was literally the glue holding the couple together. Hillary is holding her head high.

Update: I stand corrected. The Washington Post has a similar piece, "Ritual of Repentance,"  accompanied by a slide show that includes Hill and Bill in the familiar scandal news statement lineup. I suspect that this was taken after the accusation and denial but before the blue dress and the shot above. I wonder if she actually believed him. (Photo: AP/Susan Walsh.)