“As long as it does not affect his job performance”

Gov. Eliot Spitzer has absolutely nothing to fear. His career is safe and he can hold his head up high. After all, he is a Liberal Democrat and proud of it. Liberals believe that personal behavior, as long as it is not criminal or “harms” anyone else, is a “private” matter and cannot be used to threaten the person’s livelihood. The standard, as relentlessly promulgated by Human Resources departments all over American business, is that personal behavior, no matter how reprehensible, is not a reason for firing, or even admonishing, a worker “As long as it does not affect his job performance”.

In public life, the (low) standard for Liberals was established when they defended Bill Clinton’s shenanigans with Monica as a “personal family tragedy”. In fact, it helped Hillary Clinton get elected to the Senate on the “victim” exception! And the little problem of perjury was only a minor offense, in Liberals’ estimation, because it was related to a “personal (sex) matter”.

Republicans, of course, are not granted the “personal” waiver; they are expected, by both Liberals and Conservatives, to be more pure because of their advocacy of “morality” (Liberals consider that hypocrisy, which must be punished by enforcing strict adherence to “family values” standards for erring Conservatives). That is why people like Livingston and Gingrich can be driven out of public life while Clinton and any number of congressional Democrats only get a good talking to - if that (especially if they are gay).

Don’t worry Eliot; surely you can demonstrate that consorting with prostitutes does not affect your job performance.