1. Send all prostitutes to institutions of higher-learning where they can further refine their obvious free-market talents. Anybody who can get $1,000/hr. for Sex, has some real skills, imho. (*Obama has a full college tuition plan in exchange for a little public service for those interested.)

2. Send all 'johns' to ...E-harmony dot com, and hope they get lucky.

...that's all I can think of, for now.

bah.

ps. I believe Glenn covered Gov. Spitzer's hypocrisy?

Many of us feel the imposition of the criminal sanction on adult men and women who freely and consensually engage (without coercion) in an exchange of money for sexual favors does more harm than good. We are not arguing that people should go out and force children into prostitution.

Glenn, I am grateful to you, Digby, and Scott Horton for calling this what it really is. I do want to point out, though, that given Spitzer's professional persona the comparison between prostitute-patronage and marijuna-use does not meet your customary rigorous logical standards.

Yes it is, because those were the precise claims made here in comments that she was not free to which I was responding. High-end "escort services" -- het or gay -- are not bad employment as considered by the many women and men who choose that work.

We could go on and on all night arguing about whether or not prostitution is truly the victimless crime many are saying it is, but it really isn't the issue.

SW: The issue is that a District Attorney has broken the law by engaging in sex for hire, and that he just happens to have a high-profile history of prosecuting the exact industry his pants were caught down in.

He's now a governor, former DA.

Irrelevant. He became governor precisely because of the image he built as a Mr. Clean "Take No Prisoners" DA. Which including busting up the same prostitution rings he engaged in.

I'll leave you and Glenn to do your thing splitting hairs about what criminal charges he ultimately will or won't face. Because that too is a side issue.

Obviously the problem is he willfully planned and then engaged in an illegal act knowing it was incompatible with his current position, DA history and prostitution ring busting record. An intelligent man, he obviously realized the sensationalistic headlines his being caught would entail. (to suggest it's the same as a swampy near unknown LA Senator being found in someone's black book is ridiculous).

So the smartest man in the world turned out to be a bigger idiot than we thought.

Considering it's the already struggling constituents of the Democratic party that will pay the real price of his reckless behavior, suffice to say I'm decidedly unamused The best thing he can do know is steer his poorly timed carnival out of the limelight and let Lt. Govt Patterson and the adults take over the ship.

The Spitzer story is one of those that make me want to scream. It is all I can do to keep from traveling to his home in person and screaming, "What were you thinking?"

But what is done is done. I personally agree with Glenn that prostitution should be legalized and regulated in this country so that it cannot be used as a cudgel against politicians or anybody else for that matter. More importantly, any woman (or man) who CHOOSES to make a living as a prostitute will be protected from assault, extortion, and discrimination the same as any other worker should be.

Unfortunately, I am afraid that Spitzer will not be able to do his job no matter how much he tries. I hope he tries to tough it out, but it's not going to be easy. This incident will be the elephant in the room for him for a very long time. Wish it wasn't so, but it is.

Clinton toughed it out and it semi sorta worked for him. I hope Spitzer chooses to do the same.

Not necessarily. It was her money, too, he spent.

Do you know if she knew? Do you know if she minded? And actually, it probably isn't half her money, since he comes from a very rich family and much of his money likely isn't marital property. Does one spouse have to approve of every activity where the other spouse spends money?

And is any of this really any of our business?

All sorts of behavior harms marriages. It harms marriages when people drink too much, or work too much, or don't communicate, or where one person watches too much TV, or spends too much time with their friends.

That isn't the sort of "victimization" that the criminal law concerns itself with. Those are private matters to be worked out privately between the spouses, without interference from anyone else.

Or at least it ought to be.

All you guys who are so anxious to see prostitution legal might start by clamping down on the perspective that deems using women's body parts and sexuality as appropriate terms for insults and slurs.

In a manner that does not do more harm than good.

Regulation, not prohibition. Prohibition works when? How?

It's not murder or kidnapping. It's a short term contract with an independent contractor. Like a limo driver. Payment for services rendered

There is another person involved, albeit involuntarily, in the transaction: the married person's spouse.

Paying for sex doesn't change the fact that one spouse is breaking the marriage contract

That third party is not involved in the transaction, but their contract has been breached. This is a civil -- not criminal, at least not when $$ doesn't change hands (and it shouldn't be criminal then, either) -- matter with a civil remedy called divorce. Even in some no-fault states, the cheating spouse will be penalized when it comes to property settlement.

In and of itself, there's nothing here that should levy on Spitzer any penalty more severe than heartfelt embarrassment and remorse for betraying his family, and extreme humiliation for having his hypocrisy exposed.

But to let get off scot free before the law would ignore the sacred principle of moral hazard. Just as we shouldn't let the homeowners who have been victimized by unscrupulous lenders and brokers keep the homes on which they can no longer afford the mortgages, because that might encourage future buyers to commit the sin of allowing themselves to be similarly victimized -- we should see to it that Spitzer gets more than a slap on the wrist. Not for engaging with prostitutes, but for crossing state lines to do it, and thereby opening himself up to the tender mercies of a Department of Justice he knew full well had become no more than the enforcement arm of the Republican Party.

Because if we're lax this time, future Democrats may feel encouraged to do things, say running for office in red states like Alabama, that might expose them to similar dangers. And then, whatever would become of our smoothly running republic?