A note on Spitzer's resignation speech this morning. At least twice, he referred to his actions rather obliquely as "private failings." Now, I'm no lawyer. But it seems to me that at some point along the way we've decided that, as a matter of public policy, engaging in the act of prostitution isn't a "private failing" whatsoever. And that the buying and selling of sex has social implications that go beyond just the men and women involved. Isn't that, like, why it's a crime? Isn't that why Spitzer himself prosecuted prostitution cases with such vigor? For a former prosecutor, attorney general, and governor to say otherwise seems to me to be breathtakingly disingenuous.
