Mar. 12--Gov. Eliot Spitzer's free fall from political crusader, steamroller and Sheriff of Wall Street to Client 9 begs a question:
"How can such a smart, competent, apparently ethical man with so much going for him risk it all for a tryst with a prostitute?" said Kathleen Crowley, professor of psychology at The College of Saint Rose.
Spitzer, 48, who is married and has three teenage daughters, allegedly paid a prostitute thousands of dollars for sex on the eve of Valentine's Day and added extra money to his account for future services.
His behavior fits the profile of the powerful, arrogant and successful who believe they won't get caught, said Crowley and psychologist Peter S. Kanaris. They speculated on why Spitzer and other high-profile men engage in secret behaviors that could ruin their careers and reputations. The root, they said, is power.
"What he was doing seemed to be flagrant in many ways," said Kanaris, a marriage and sex therapist in Smithtown, Long Island. "It smacks of a little hubris, that sense that 'I'm in charge, I'm in power and I can get away with something outrageous.' He may have fooled himself in that regard."
"There's a sense of entitlement," Crowley added.
Crowley said Spitzer's alleged behavior appears overwhelmingly hypocritical in light of his reputation as a reformer who demanded the highest standards from himself and other people in power.
Spitzer's senses were so adrift that he forgot the forensic tools he used to prosecute insider trading on Wall Street, she said. Federal investigators followed the alleged trail Spitzer created by arranging an appointment with the Emperors Club VIP over the phone and raising his line of credit for future encounters.
The ways of rationalizing bad behavior are many.
"A very common rationalization for men like this is 'I am under so much stress and so much pressure, I deserve something like this for myself,' " Crowley said.
Some believe sex for money isn't cheating, or they seek out a prostitute to act out sexual fantasies they don't feel are acceptable in a marital relationship, said Kanaris, a marriage and sex therapist.
On the affidavit, Spitzer is listed as Client 9, who was known to ask for unsafe sex. Crowley said that could mean anything from not using a condom to more exotic requests.
It comes back to power.
"Men in power have a great deal of attention paid to them and a great deal of ego building," Crowley said. "They like the ego boost of being with a beautiful woman. There's sexual excitement and they may have the opportunity to engage in sexual behavior they don't routinely engage in."
Laurie Zelinger, a psychologist in Hewlett, Nassau County, said risky behavior can be a sign of depression. "His ratings have dropped," Zelinger said. "It may be that he needs this sense of arousal to replace where he felt more accomplished and more revered. It may be that engaging in this behavior may be an attempt at making him feel better about himself."
Spitzer doesn't project the classic image of a depressed person, Crowley said. "But it's always difficult to say what people do in their truly secret lives," she said. "He has a secret life, and it's probably much more complicated than a tryst in a hotel room. There's probably a great many things that we can only guess about that are going on emotionally." Cathleen F. Crowley can be reached at 454-5348, or by e-mail at ccrowley@timesunion.com.
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Last updated: 04/11/2008 - 09:06 AM