Glenn, I've been reading your stuff since the beginning, and could probably count on the fingers of one hand the times I have disagreed with you. But I disagree (at least in part) here.

1. I agree that there is a more than a whiff of partisan witch hunt here. And I think that if there are echoes of the Siegelman case then (a) that should influence whether and how Spitzer is charged, and (b) the way in which he was targeted, if it is political, is a much bigger story than what Spitzer did.

2. I tend toward the libertarian perspective on prostitution, though there are reasons why I fear that position might be too simplistic.

3. The hypocrisy matters to me, as does the hubris and poor judgment inherent in such actions by a sitting governor.

4. The parallels to Bill Clinton's case do not really hold up for me. The affair with Monica was not illegal, though it did evidence terrible judgment. The illegality in that case arose subsequent to and as a result of Starr's witch hunt. Not so here. And yes, I was pissed and disappointed then -- not because it mattered in and of itself, but because he had to know how badly it could hurt him and reduce his effectiveness as President.

5. I'd like to suggest a different parallel. It sounds like you would, if you were the appropriate federal prosecutor, decline to prosecute here. The argument, as I understand it, is that what he did shouldn't be illegal, and so (a) it is OK to decline to prosecute and/or (b) Spitzer should not be treated more harshly than the rest of us would be. But (a) seems a lot like Mukasey's rationale for declining to prosecute Miers and Bolten -- the law is clear, as are their violations of it, but Justice doesn't agree that they did anything wrong, so they stand pat.

6. I think the guiding principle here should be consistency -- the Republicans will neither care nor notice, but it matters to me. I don't see how I can condemn David Vitter and give Spitzer a pass.

I'm open to other ways of thinking about it, but that's how it looks from here. So far.

Because it's using and exploiting women and treating them as sex objects.

People who opine that they would like to see their daughters doing it, or that it's the equivalent of manual labor, are being deliberate fools. When they have to offer up their own asses to somebody else's dick for money, they might get it.

Glenn, maybe you ought to stick to political commentary. Moralizing clearly isn't your strong suit.

it seems as though you posed the question to cleverly show the problems with the laws, what's your legal interpretation?

My interpretation is that the distinction is bunk, garbage. There are historical and ironically patriarchal reasons, but these are arbitrary and illegitimate, in my view.

Again, you nailed this one to the wall.

The Bush Administration slaughtered a million people. Where's the outrage? I call that reprehensible.

In some states would not Glenn's sexual behavior be a crime??

No, thanks to something called the Constitution. But, since you brought up the topic of other's personal lives, how about you list every activity you engage in behind closed doors, and let's see if we can't find something illegal or immoral?

Persecution is fun!

Go fuck yourself, eat shit, and die--in that order--you maggot.

Glenn--no problem with me whatsoever if you ban this piece of shit troll.

Kitt..

It is foolish in the extreme to indulge in such an illegal act when you know full well that you are a target..

If Spitzer didn't know he would be a target for the right he's nowhere near as smart as a lot of people seem to think he is.

-- Aycharaych

My point (which I thought was quite clear) was that what Spitzer did is not at all uncommon amongst people who are in a position similar to his. How ever foolish you think he is has nothing to do with my point.

I hope you'll update your post to reflect the new information about how Gov. Spitzer's actions were exposed. It was not the "prostitution ring" that was the target of the investigation, but rather Spitzer himself, when the IRS was alerted to "suspicious" money transfers.

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4424507&page=1

And, by the way, I agree with entirely (as usual).

Prostitution is wrong

Because it's using and exploiting women and treating them as sex objects.

People who opine that they would like to see their daughters doing it, or that it's the equivalent of manual labor, are being deliberate fools. When they have to offer up their own asses to somebody else's dick for money, they might get it.

Glenn, maybe you ought to stick to political commentary. Moralizing clearly isn't your strong suit.

Prostitution is illegal because it is judged to be morally wrong. I didn't make any of those arguments for it's decriminalization or legalization and I don't believe Glenn would. It is a political issue. It's about personal liberty and goes to the very question of who owns your body, you or the state. If I own it, can I not sell it? If only I had any buyers... sigh.

“Prostitution is wrong. Because it's using and exploiting women and treating them as sex objects.”- tina schrier

Which is why it must remain illegal, thereby insuring that it never, ever happens, just like illicit drug use. What? Gov. Spitzer did what? But that’s impossible!! It’s against the law!

Are you familiar with a popular legal business venture called PORNOGRAPHY? It is where many daughters, sisters, mothers and brothers are paid to.....suck dick.

Why so against prostitution? I don't get it, really.

In the late-twentieth-century Weltanschauung, a hypocrite was someone who espoused high moral views as part of a planned campaign of deception-he never held these beliefs sincerely and routinely violated them in privacy. Of course, most hypocrites are not like that. Most of the time it’s a spirit-is-willing, flesh-is-weak sort of thing.”

I've been around long enough to know that most people who espouse what are generally thought of as "high moral values" are doing so solely for public consumption.

Those who really and truly hold high moral values don't feel the need to constantly remind others of their position.

I'm a steadfast believer in leadership by example..

Although I'm about as far from a "sports fan" as it's possible to get I recall a quote by Bear Bryant about how to forge a winning football team that is applicable in any form of collective endeavor.

"If anything goes bad, I did it. If anything goes semi-good, we did it. If anything goes really good, then you did it. That's all it takes to get people to win football games for you." -Bear Bryant