Law & Disorder

New York Governor Eliot Spitzer is a little bit of a hypocrite scumbag.

You don't get caught on a federal wiretap showing your involvement in a prostitution ring. Especially when your whole career was built around being an anti-corruption crusader. Unless you're a self righteous pompous putz like Spitzer, or "Client 9" as the wiretap investigation identifies him.

With his wife at his side, Spitzer told reporters that he "acted in a way that violates my obligations to my family." How about your office and position? "I have disappointed and failed to live up to the standard I expected of myself," he said. "I must now dedicate some time to regain the trust of my family." But really, what about your obligation as a public figure?

Earlier in the day that Spitzer told senior administration officials that he was linked to a prostitution ring. Four people allegedly connected to a high-end ring called the Emperors Club VIP were arrested last week.

The Web site of the Emperors Club VIP displays photographs of scantily clad women with their faces hidden. It also shows hourly rates depending on whether the prostitutes were rated with one diamond, the lowest ranking, or seven diamonds, the highest. The most highly ranked prostitutes cost $5,500 an hour. Prosecutors said the defendants arranged connections between wealthy men and more than 50 prostitutes in New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Miami, London and Paris.

For those unfamiliar, Spitzy built his political reputation on rooting out corruption, including several headline-making battles with Wall Street while serving as attorney general. He stormed into the governor's office in 2006 with a historic share of the vote, vowing to continue his no-nonsense approach to fixing one of the nation's worst governments. Time magazine had named him "Crusader of the Year" when he was attorney general and the tabloids proclaimed him "Eliot Ness." Who knew he liked to get a little strange on the side, and illegal one at that?

His stint as governor has been marred by several problems, including an unpopular plan to grant driver's licenses to illegal immigrants and a plot by his aides to smear Spitzer's main Republican nemesis. But banging a pro for Spitzy is like Bob Barker kicking a dog or Al Gore driving a Hummer - unbelievable.

The will-he-or-won't-he question if he plans to resign will surely be discovered in the coming days, that is, if he can muster the strength to show up publicly and take the character beating he has coming for being such a hypocrite douche.