Spitzer

Well, well, well, a politician caught with a hooker, what a surprise. *Yawn*. It seems to be all anyone can talk about the last few days and most of the talk ends up being pretty pointless. Oddly, the most pertinent comment came from the leader of the loyal opposition in the NY legislature, who said something like "I feel sorry for his family, now we have to move forward." More on this guy in a moment. None of the rest of it helps and the pundits trying to explain why a man like Spitzer would do something like this are too caught up in grinding their own little axes.
First of all he had to resign. If he hadn't rode into office on the chariot of law and order he might have been able to hang on a la Bill Clinton, but he was hoist on his own petard and losing his job was an inevitability.
The reaction of the Republicans was predictable as well. Doesn't matter what party it is, or what the scandal happens to be, once political blood is in the water than every single politician turns into a shark, and the perpetrator's allies can't afford to defend him or her for fear of becoming the next ladle of chum. On both sides of the aisle, it's pure sanctimonious hypocrisy. Political expediency demands that everyone denounce any wrongdoing vociferously even when they know that their own colleagues and/or even themselves are guilty of the same thing. The public knows it, everyone does. The gentleman in the NY legislature was, prior to the resignation, pounding the pulpit and threatening impeachment. Once his opponent was KOed, he was ready to forgive and move on, trying to increase his moral capital in another way.
Of course, Spitzer was nobly contrite, accepting the blame and not trying to defend himself, emphasizing the remorse that consumes him over his tragic mistake. Again, this smacks of bullshit like it always does. Neither Spitzer nor anyone else who gets nailed with his hand or other body part in the cookie jar is really sorry they did it, they are sorry they got caught. Period. If he could have banged that high-end concubine with no one the wiser he would never have felt that level of remorse.
Finally, let's get to the why. Why did it happen? How does a law and order no nonsense sheriff who has such a high regard for correct behavior get tangled in the very nets he himself set? The answer is easy. Biology. Not the trite no-man-can-keep-it-in-his-pants type of biology but something more subtle. There is a quantity over quality issue in male reproductive strategy of any species (the opposite is true for female organisms). The promiscuity thing is a symptom of this. Males have more of a tendency to put their energy in more reproductive opportunities where females put their energy into maximizing the chances of each reproductive opportunity. This is directly attributable to the cheapness of sperm and the rareness of ova.
Human beings are social creatures and have hierarchies built into their social systems everywhere you look. Here is the important point, the only reason for getting to the top of any social hierarchy is to increase the opportunity to pass genes on to the next generation. Money, political power, social status, physical prowess, any of that stuff, it's all a vehicle to provide more access to more, and more selectively fit, reproductive partners. The higher the position the stronger the pull of the biological imperative. It's not conscious, but it is hard to resist. Spitzer became an alpha male and his survival urge was pushing him to act the part. Doesn't mean he's blameless, or off the hook, or a victim. But people have to understand that this is why these things happen. It's not a mystery, all the experts can expound upon their pet theories all they want, but it's just biology.