Governor Eliot Spitzer Quits

Governor Eliot Spitzer is out. That is the subject of this evening's "Talking Points Memo."

Wednesday morning, the governor of New York quit his job, saying he could no longer lead after being snared in a federal prostitution investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELIOT SPITZER: Over the course of my public life I have insisted, I believe correctly, that people, regardless of their position or power, take responsibility for their conduct. I can and will ask no less of myself. For this reason, I am resigning from the office of governor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

Now many Americans are asking, and rightly so, how some other elected officials survived in office when Spitzer could not. Congressmen Barney Frank and Gerry Studds had gay situations. Senator David Vitter visited prostitutes. And Senator Larry Craig pleaded guilty to another gay charge. But none of those men left office.

The difference seems to be Governor Spitzer's anti-crime posture, including prosecutions of prostitute rings. When you have a law and order guy actually breaking the law himself, while at the same time he's punishing others for doing what he's doing, the situation becomes untenable. So Spitzer is gone.

"Talking Points" believes the story tells us a lot about America. No question the press loves a scandal. Even though Spitzer's a Democrat, the media's gone wild. The folks too are engaged for a number of reasons, some of them valid, some of them disturbing.

The ideologues on the left are making fools of themselves. Far-left loon Katrina van den Heuvel is saying she believes there was a conspiracy to get Spitzer. The L.A. Times bemoaning the fact that prostitution is a big deal.

Well, here's a bulletin to The Times editorial people. Prostitution isn't a big deal, but a guy who's prosecuting and using the services simultaneously is. Get a clue.

And then there's the social hysteria.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE, "TODAY" SHOW: When the wife does not focus in on the needs and the feelings sexually, personally, to make him feel like a man, to make him feel like a success, to make him feel like her hero, he's very susceptible to the charm of some other woman making him feel what he needs. And these days, women don't spend a lot of time thinking about how they can give their men what they need. I hold women accountable for tossing out perfectly good men by not treating them with the love and kindness and respect and attention they need.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOY BEHAR, CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": Viagra is destroying our government. It must be stopped. And it's not a coincidence that it's called the Mann Act when you take a hooker from one state to another.

ELISABETH HASSELBECK, CO-HOST, "THE VIEW": The hooker was a woman. So there are two people to blame. And there are two people that tangoed here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

All in all, just another week in America. God help us.

And that's "The Memo."

Pinheads & Patriots

Nineteen-year-old Monica Brown from Lake Jackson, Texas, has received the Silver Star for gallantry in Afghanistan.

The Army specialist is only the second woman since World War II to earn that honor. She braved heavy fire to rescue five wounded comrades.

For this, Specialist Brown is obviously a patriot.

On the pinhead front, say it ain't so, Mary Ann. Dawn Wells, who played that character on "Gilligan's Island," has pleaded guilty in Idaho to DUI after cops found marijuana in her car.

Ms. Wells is 69 years old. We wonder whether she gets an AARP discount when buying weed.

Ms. Wells is a pinhead — could be a pothead — and really needs to think it over before getting in her car stoned. Mary Ann!