REPLACE GEITHNER WITH SPITZER

[Taverner]

Come on - you know he'd be good.

And if he sleeps with hookers, so F'n what? The job isn't Marriage Counselor in Chief.

[msongs]

1. and now DU can stop badmouthing diaper dave vitter if Spitzer's ok w/hookers nt

[Donnachaidh]

4. oh please --what a bullshit comparison

Spitzer hired a hooker. While you can think it's deplorable, at least he wasn't trying to tap a young intern or anyone he worked with.

Diaper Dave? Mr. FAMILY VALUES? That idiot should be trussed up in a public stock, with his diaper on, so the repukes who voted for him would realize just what a FREAK he is.

And he'd probably be excited the whole time he was being stared at. :sarcasm:

[Taverner]

6. Yes, Spitzer never claimed to be a family values guy

My question is why did Fitzgerald take the bait and go after him - two alpha males fighting for top dog?

[anigbrowl]

18. But he did claim to be anti-vice

http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/story?id=4424586&page=1

He was happy to bust people for making money off prostitution, as opposed to just those who were involved in violence or trafficking. It's pretty hard to see the difference between the businesses he patronized, and those he busted. I don't care about his sex life at all, but to me it sounds like being tough on drug dealing except for your own personal supplier.

[marketcrazy1]

2. at he PAYS his hookers!

and his taxes!!!

[Taverner]

3. Yes, it was never an unfair business transaction with him

[WI_DEM]

5. He might have become AG. What happened to Spitzer is his own doing

he won't be in the cabinet. No president, Obama or anybody else will touch him. Sorry.

[Taverner]

9. But what he did is NOTHING It really is. And its none of our business

I'm not saying you're wrong - probably no one will touch him

But its a shame, because he was set up, and what he did wasn't wrong in the first place

[WI_DEM]

12. maybe so but that is the way it is.

[WI_DEM]

13. A better candidate in my mind is Reich.

[Donnachaidh]

17. yeah, sexually repressed hard asses would rather the country go bankrupt

than hire a guy who paid a hooker to touch his pee pee. :sarcasm:

[anigbrowl]

21. Spitzer WAS one of those hard asses. He put people in jail even as he was using those same services.

I admire him in a lot of ways...but at the same time, he was a class A hypocrite.

[Taverner]

25. Solution: legalize prostitution Problem solved

[anigbrowl]

28. Agreed, but it doesn't alter the fact he was a hypocrite in how he exercised his legal powers.

[Donnachaidh]

30. ....

:eyes:

[Taverner]

31. Yeah hes a hypocrite. But they aren't that rare in politics

Even on our side

Thing is, he has cojones, something Geithner is lacking

[anigbrowl]

33. He's a hypocrite who put people in jail for selling a service that he liked to buy.

For that matter, Spitzer never went to jail or even got charged, but the people he was giving money to did. Why does he get a pass when others had to go to jail?

[Taverner]

Because sometimes it takes a John to bust a John???

Of course why bust the Johns at all?

[WI_DEM]

23. I'm sure there is somebody who is just as good as Spitzer who also has a clean reputation

and could get confirmed.

[Donnachaidh]

16. So we get a wall street insider who is handing out money to his buddies

by the bucketfull.

But we can't hire a guy who *gasp* paid a hooker to touch his pee pee. :sarcasm:

What's WRONG with this picture? :sarcasm:

[truedelphi]

22. Vwat EEZ wrong with theese picture is zactly why zee

Europeans laugh so long and hard at us!

We don't have health insurance and can lose every penny we ever made if a medical emergency hits. But at least we can all sleep snug and safe in the idea that our politicians are beyond reproach in sexual matters!

[D-Lee]

35. You're right. There were other things too ...

He did not play well with others might sum it up.

He took after the Republican Senate leader (at a time when it looked like there was no need to pile on because the leader was already subject to a separate FBI investigation) and reportedly was not totally truthful about his deeds.

He was pretty autocratic, including saying he would work against opposition party legislators ... early in the game, right after he was sworn in.

He had a reputation as a great New York Attorney General, however, and really understood finance.

[Renew Deal]

7. From a tax cheat to a married guy that likes hookers.

And Spitzer doesn't do well on unfamiliar subjects. He's a lawyer, not a finance guy.

[Taverner]

10. I don't care if he likes to sleep with the fishes

You know, in that Troy McClure sorta way...

[anigbrowl]

15. Neither do I, but remember he was promoting himself as a vice-buster

I mean, you probably shouldn't be a customer of an industry you're publicly dedicated to suppressing. At the least, it raises questions about he shut some prostitution operations down and left others alone.

[Donnachaidh]

29. that high horse have blinkers?

How many cops out in the US bust drug pushers during the day, but do a joint at home to *relax*?

These *outraged morals* are keeping people who can do the job WELL (IE -- not take bribes or show favoritism) out of those jobs. And then we almost always wind up with such and such's *brother-in-law* or college buddy, who is a "Good Christian" and would NEVER do anything immoral, yadda yadda yadda..

Howeverm that "good christian" would also NOT go after political buddies, or perhaps has his own little leather room in his house that he hides away from prying eyes. And we get NOTHING done - because someone couldn't find a ladder to get off their damned high horse in the first place.

[anigbrowl]

32. Spitzer is an example of *exactly* what you're complaining about.

He got to be governor because he had such a high profile as NY's attorney-general, even though he was using his power to bust people for the same things he liked to do. If he hadn't made a big deal out of his vice-busting, then I wouldn't care about his participation. But he used the 'outraged morals' argument to shut down high-priced prostitution businesses and further his own political career - and necessarily, showed favoritism towards the businesses of which he was a customer.

[LeftyFingerPop]

8. agree 100%. n/t

[anigbrowl]

11. I could like him in the Justice department, but I don't see what he'd bring to Treasury

You seem to forget that prosecuting bankers or rescinding contracts would ultimately be Eric Holder's job, not Tim Geithner's. I'm not overawed with Geithner at present, but people here seem to be rather mixed up about how government departments function.

[ihavenobias]

14. I like the idea but the wife cheating thing would sink him. How about Joseph Stiglitz? n/t

[nbsmom]

19. Obama has had to build a bench

Notice how he's really sticking all of these "Clinton leftovers" in right now?

It is arguable that any of them would have been first choice in a less turbulent environment. Nobody could possibly be lovin' them some Summers or Geithner. But they are, to some extent, battle tested and for that reason alone I think we should cut the Administration some slack. Can you think of one single initiative that the Bush administration had pulled off at Day 60 in office?

And, pray tell, why should Obama put an untested person (like, say, Goolsbee) in a high-profile spot right now? WHOEVER is in the job is going to crash and burn to some extent. Summer and Geithner, on the other hand, have actually done this before, and may even still remember where (some of) the bodies are buried. Meanwhile, Goolsbee and the like can learn and watch and be ready to step up when this crowd says, "Screw it. There is no amount of money you can pay me to keep taking this crap."

[ihavenobias]

26. In other words, you want the Devil You Know?

;)

[nbsmom]

36. Absofrigginlutely n/t

[ihavenobias]

37. I'd rather have the Angel I don't know.

:)

Joseph Stiglitz.

[nbsmom]

40. Who wouldn't?

But what are ya gonna do? (BTW, do you think that they don't have his number on speed dial?)

[Taverner]

41. Angels and Devils don't exist - just humans

And they are a complex species

[MadBadger]

20. It wasnt just that he slept with hookers, it was his role in prosecuting those kinds of cases

Thats what pisses me off about him

[dkofos]

24. We could neuter him first.

Then we wouldn't have to worry about hookers.

[BuyingThyme]

27. Okay, but if he goes hooker again,

I'm going to spank him again.

[bobburgster]

34. Republican Holy Roller Field Day......

Cripes, they still salivate every time they get a chance to bring up Bill/Monica. I do believe they are ready to blame the economic crisis on his cheating. They would be all over Spitzer reducing any effectiveness he might have had

[morgan2]

38. Im sure every politician in dc has broken sex related laws

http://www.alternet.org/sex/130073/the_top_10_craziest_sex_laws_in_america

8. While most would argue that this is place where the people get screwed many different ways, in Washington, D.C., engaging in any sexual position other than missionary is illegal.

they just haven't been caught.

[ColbertWatcher]

39. The more I think about this, the better the idea gets.

Fine, Spitzer consorted with hookers, let his wife deal with him. And, if he used anyone else's money, let him suffer the circumstances.

But, if he didn't break any other laws, let this guy get back into everyone's good graces by getting revenge on these bastards, 'cuz you know they're the ones who busted his philandering ass.

[chill_wind]

42. Never happen, no matter much we admire his talent. n/t

[MiniMe]

43. I love Spitzer, but it would be political suicide for Obama

Also, while he is a great attorney general and prosecutor, what is his economic experience? Replace Geithner with Krugman.