Taking it like a Republican

When caught, the New York governor who was the darling of the progressive wing — so aggressively had he prosecuted CEOs that he’d been mentioned for higher office — admitted his shortcomings and resigned.

Most Democrats don’t do that. They follow the Bill Clinton wriggle-off-the-hook approach. First and foremost, they stay in office. They lie, as in, "I did not have sex with that woman." They attack the accuser. They rationalize, complain, explain and then finally just insist people forget about it. Move on, to use the language of Democrats. It was, after all, just about sex.

Of course, it’s never just about sex. These kinds of violations always involve public trust, integrity and sometimes very real public security concerns.

I have a theory about why this is. The reason Democrats and Republicans differ when it comes to Spitzer-like circumstances is that their "playbooks," as Hillary calls them, list sex scandals in different chapters. In the Republican playbook, a sex scandal involving cheating on your family is listed under "Capital Crimes." In the Democrat playbook, such offenses are found under "Traffic Tickets."

Now, I know there are exceptions to this rule. That is my point. It’s why Spitzer stands out. He’s a Democrat who took personal responsibility. It is also why folks on the other side of the aisle also stand out as exceptions to the rule. Consider the low behavior of Sen. Larry Craig, the Idaho Republican who, as the old country and western song goes, was lookin’ for love in all the wrong places — namely a men’s restroom at the Minneapolis airport.

Sen. Craig, his wife and his state would have been better off had he simply resigned, rather than whine pathetically about police officers misunderstanding his intentions in signaling the undercover cop in the stall next to him.

All that said, I must tell you that I don’t get too worked up about the human failings of our elected officials. People are people, and they can sometimes disappoint us. This any parent knows. The difference, it seems to me, is in how people behave after they have fallen. Spitzer looks to me like a guy who is getting good advice from his rabbi or someone close to him. He knows he’s crossed the line. He admits it to himself and the world. He appears contrite. And he seems to understand there can be redemption, but it must — must! — be outside of public office.

That’s a healthy, proper approach.

Bill Clinton, of course, is the poster boy for exactly how not to behave. He remains in denial. He gives the world a wink and a nod, but fails to understand what a sad sideshow he has become. He missed his chance at public redemption.

If you are a Democrat who disagrees with me, try this on for size: Had Bill Clinton showed some class and honor and resigned, like Spitzer, Al Gore would have become president and, with little doubt, been re-elected in 2000.

I’ll leave to you to decide whether the world would have been better off had Clinton done the right thing.

Postscript: If I have one quibble with how Spitzer conducted himself, it would be in allowing his wife to stand beside him at his news conferences. There was no need for that. She’s been humiliated enough.

 

Sherman Frederick (sfrederick@reviewjournal.com) is publisher of the Review-Journal and president of Stephens Media.