At least he had the character to admit to it.
The American public tends to be VERY forgiving. All you have to do is say "I'm sorry." or "I made a mistake" and the media will move on. There's nothing sensational about a public official who commits a crime and then admits to it.
Slick Willy, Martha Stewart, Lil' Kim, Barry Bonds.....it's like none of them read the news.
If you simply say "I'm a dumbass, and I'm really sorry...." everyone will just go...okay, next story.
How many people would have blamed Bill Clinton for trying to get some....look who he's married to
Instead of coming out and saying..."Yep, I did it....." He tried to make his case center around the "definition of is."
If there's one thing the sensationalist media era has proven to us.....you're better off telling the truth. Most of the stuff these celebrities and public officials get caught for aren't all that serious or egregious. But perjury and obstruction carry a hefty penalty.
Like Barry Bonds. What an idiot. Why piss on our backs and tell us it's raining? Just admit to it. Nope. Instead, look what he's facing now. He'll be lucky if the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is his biggest worry. Now he's gonna have to worry about spending time in a California penetentuary. Brilliant.
Again, at least Spitzer was smart enough to just fade away. He'll probably be back. Again, the American media loves sensational stories. A guy who cheats on his wife (even a governor) and uses tax money to do it with a prosititute isn't all that exciting.....unless he denies it. At which case it becomes controversial.