"They'll be merciless"

What led the Feds to spy on Spitzer? The plot thickens.

Almost four months before Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned in a sex scandal, a lawyer for Republican political operative Roger Stone sent a letter to the FBI alleging that Spitzer ''used the services of high-priced call girls'' while in Florida.

The letter, dated Nov. 19, said Miami Beach resident Stone learned the information from ''a social contact in an adult-themed club.'' It offered one potentially identifying detail: The man in question hadn't taken off his calf-length black socks ``during the sex act.''

Stone, known for shutting down the 2000 presidential election recount effort in Miami-Dade County, is a longtime Spitzer nemesis whose political experience ranges from the Nixon White House to Al Sharpton's presidential campaign. His lawyer wrote the letter containing the call-girl allegations after FBI agents had asked to speak to Stone, though he says the FBI did not specify why he was contacted.

This is only going to get weirder.

Meanwhile, this article in New York Times seems to imply that part of what drove Spitzer to behave so dangerously was his frustration with Albany politics.

It was Day 190 of his administration — a term that had begun with his promise that everything that was dysfunctional and hopelessly partisan about Albany would change with his swearing-in.

But as the conversation wore on, that promise — that he would bring a kind of constructive passion back to Albany — began to feel distant, naïve, even lost.

And then he was asked a question about his wife. He was, in that moment, no longer a prosecutor trying a case, and the veneer of toughness that he and his handlers had taken years to build up fell away almost completely.

There was quiet for several seconds.

“This, this is harder,” he said, speaking with care about his wife, Silda, “because she looks at me and she says, ‘Do you really want this stuff? And do you want this for your kids and do you want them to see this stuff?’ ”

He paused again.

The reporter started to continue. “Just all the ——”

“Yeah,” Mr. Spitzer said. “It’s ugly.”

For a second, he flashed again with enthusiasm, speaking of a run he had taken with one of his daughters the day before.

“We had a great time,” he said. “I ran with Sarabeth in Utica, and it was spectacular. She beat me, which was great. But then you pick up the papers and you see this stuff.”

He paused again, looking nothing short of fragile.

“Well, you know,” he said. “There it is.”

His eyes were moist.

Humbled

What Ezra says.

This is sort of the boring take on Spitzer, but what we're seeing here is not the fall -- if indeed he does fall -- of a high-flying governor. It's the final tumble of a crushed reformer. Spitzer, for reasons both structural and personal, has been utterly humbled by Albany. The new capitalism he promised, the age of transparency he spoke of, the national ambitions he harbored -- all have broken before the obstacles he faced in the governor's mansion. When you think of the hype he was getting only a couple years ago, that's a rather remarkable fact. I don't care about the prostitution. But the capacity of the system to stand against those who would reform it, and who come into office with a broad mandate to do so, is really quite sobering.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out. Will voters overcome their disgust in reaction to the subsequent "outrage" of his opponents, as we've seen in the past? Or will the sheer mindless hubris of the act (or acts), combined with the money involved ($5K for two hours, yowzer), damage him so much he can't rally a defense?

Republicans in Congress were never able to make much of a case against Clinton based on cries of "abuse of power" over a young woman working for him. It probably didn't work because most people saw through the feigned outrage, realizing Republicans couldn't care less about Lewinsky (the Starr Report was certainly evidence of that). The whole thing seemed more sad than anything else.

Having the money and power to beckon a call girl to Washington DC may have a different effect on voters' views of Spitzer.

Crusading politicians

Yes, even Democratic "crusading reformers" can get caught up in "scandal. Even a politician like Spitzer who seemed beyond reproach. But the difference here is that Spitzer, who, yes, has made a career out of "outing " crooked pols and dishonest brokerage houses, had not made a career out of "outing" politicians who have hired prostitutes.

NEW YORK - Gov. Eliot Spitzer, the crusading politician who built his career on rooting out corruption, has told senior advisers he was involved in a prostitution ring, The New York Times reported Monday. In a public statement, Spitzer apologized to his family and the public but did not elaborate on the reported links to a prostitution ring.

The Times reported that a person with knowledge of the governor's role believes the governor is identified as a client in court papers. Four people allegedly connected to a high-end prostitution ring called Emperors Club VIP were arrested last week.

It's embarrassing for him, possibly humiliating for his wife. But this isn't hypocritical behavior, as the AP seems to suggest. This isn't an homophobic "defender of marriage" who trolls men's bathrooms, or a defender of "exploited children" who, in fact, exploits children.

The AP story, furthermore, seems to take great delight in referring to Spitzer's "ties" to "a prostitution ring." We'll learn more, no doubt, but they seem to imply that he's the equivalent of a pimp.

I do believe he is the biggest name to come out of this story, yet.