New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer Tied to Prostitution Ring

Democratic New York Governor Eliot Spitzer is making headlines linking him to a prostitution ring, the New York Times is reporting this afternoon.

Caught with the help of federal wiretaps and now referred to as "Client 9" of the Emperors Club VIP, Mr. Spitzer has been recorded when setting up a tryst with a New York prostitute that later on took place in room 871 at a Washington hotel (possibly the Mayflower) on the eve of Valentine's Day. Offering a dry-eyed apology with a clearly shell-shocked wife by his side, the public is learning that the need to act was precipitated by the heads up of a federal official who contacted Mr. Spitzer's office on 03-07-08 to disclose the information that was garnered.

Of course, sex scandals and politicians go together like peanut butter and jelly, Simon and Garfunkel, or Siegfried and Roy. Some politicians are thrust into the limelight when their exploits see the light of day - like Arlington, Oregon, Mayor Carmen Kontur-Gronquist who modeled a black bra and panties on a fire engine and then posted pictures on MySpace - while others are already in the public eye and thus find that these revelations are taking on a much more serious turn.

Take for example Bill Clinton, former President and current First Sir hopeful, whose extramarital exploits were the fodder of yellow journalism for years. While all eyes were peeled on the well known Lewinsky scandal, it was the disgraceful behavior with Paula Jones and subsequent payoff that sent the wires humming and would eventually become known as Trooper-Gate.

Lacking President Clinton's Teflon personality, presidential hopeful Gary Hart learned the hard way in 1987 that tangling with the press is a surefire way of getting dirt dug up you don't need. After daring reporters to go after him, it only took one day for the Miami Herald to break the story of a beautiful, young Donna Rice exiting Mr. Hart's residence and the media attention snowballed from there, leaving him, according to the New York Times, bitter and disillusioned.