Last week was the Ohio primaries and I almost didn’t vote, despite this being a very exciting time in our nations political history. The last two presidential elections I voted in, I lost. I didn’t just lose because the candidate I backed lost, I lost because my country was no longer my own. I felt completely disenfranchised by the person who became my president. Such is the way of our political system. Half the people get what the want, the other half get left swinging in the breeze.

Throw in the complete and utter contempt and overt disdain our current leadership has for its constituency by loading the Supreme Court with conservative judges thus creating a very unbalanced judicial system, the systematic snatching away of personal privacy under the guise of a “war on terror” and then ultimately the deteriorating state of our current economics, it’s no surprise people want change in their government.

Yesterday NY Governor Elliot Spitzer, a former Attorney General, called a press conference to apologize for a “personal matter” which compromised his integrity as an elected official and ultimately hurt his family. While he didn’t elaborate on what the personal matter was, it didn’t take a genius to figure out he was taking a preemptive strike against information which linked him to a “high-rolling prostitution ring.” The very types of criminal activities as Attorney General of New York he fought tooth and nail to prosecute and eliminate.

The only remaining question is whether Spitzer will resign from his post as governor or if he will be forcibly removed. It’s is likely he will resign, as politicians are loath to come clean about their transgressions, though ultimately we are going to find out anyway. Interestingly, if Spitzer resigns or is impeached, Lt. Governor David Paterson will take his place, making him the first blind and black governor of New York. Let’s hope he will live up to his position better than Spitzer has.

Here’s some detail of the allegations pending against Spitzer from CNN, though so far, no formal charges have been filed:

Spitzer, who is married with three children, went before reporters Monday to confess to an undisclosed personal indiscretion, saying he had acted “in a way that violates my obligations to my family, that violates my or any sense of right and wrong.”

He did not acknowledge the allegations, which were revealed Monday in The New York Times, nor did he take questions. His alleged involvement with the ring was caught on a federal wiretap, the source said.

The prostitute, identified only as “Kristen” worked for the Emperors Club, which charged between $1,000 and $5,500 an hour and operated in New York; Los Angeles, California; Miami, Florida; London, England; and Paris, France, according to court papers.

According to the affidavit, defendant Temeka Rachelle Lewis — who is accused of working as a booking agent for the club — wrote a text message February 11, asking the operation’s day-to-day organizer to “pls let me know if (Client 9’s) [Client 9 refers to Spitzer] ‘package’ arrives 2mrw. Appt wd be on Wed.” Prosecutors say the message was a reference to a deposit.

On February 12, according to the affidavit, Lewis sent a message to Kristen, saying Client 9’s deposit had not arrived but she should be able to “do the trip” if it arrived the next day.

In a later conversation, Lewis and Kristen discussed when the prostitute could take a train from New York’s Penn Station to Washington’s Union Station, the affidavit said. Client 9 would be “paying for everything — train tickets, cab fare from the hotel and back, mini bar or room service, travel time, and hotel.”

Paying for a prostitute to travel from New York to Washington could violate federal law. The Mann Act makes it a federal offense to take someone across state lines for the purpose of prostitution.

The affidavit says that on February 12 at about 5 p.m., Lewis spoke with Client 9 on the telephone and told him that his “package arrived today.” The client asked Lewis whom he would be meeting and, when told it was Kristen, said, “Great, OK, wonderful.”

The two discussed how the woman would get a key to his room for a February 13 rendezvous and how they could arrange credit for future services.

“Client 9 asked Lewis to remind him what Kristen looked like and Lewis said that she was an American, petite, very pretty brunette, 5 feet 5-inches and 105 pounds,” the affidavit reads.

In a call to Lewis, Client 9 was told the balance would be $2,712.41, but Lewis suggested he give Kristen $1,500 or $2,000 more so that he would have a credit.

According to the affidavit, Kristen called Lewis about 9:32 p.m. on February 13 and told her she was in Client 9’s room — No. 871 — at the Washington hotel.

Four minutes later, Client 9 was in the hotel, Lewis told Kristen in another call…No more calls were logged until 12:02 a.m. — Valentine’s Day — nearly 2½ hours later. At that time, Kristen told Lewis that Client 9 had left and she had collected $4,300.

Lewis told the prostitute she’d been told that Client 9 “would ask you to do things that, like, you might not think are safe — you know — I mean that … very basic things,” the affidavit says.

Kristen told Lewis, “I have a way of dealing with that. … I’d be like, listen dude, you really want the sex?”

“I don’t think he’s difficult,” Kristen is quoted as saying. “I mean it’s just kind of like … whatever … I’m here for a purpose. I know what my purpose is. I am not a … moron, you know what I mean.”

Spitzer, who built his career on rooting out public corruption as New York attorney general, became a national figure with a series of high-profile Wall Street investigations. He also prosecuted prostitution rings.

Really, this whole scenario requires no commentary, as it speaks for itself. Spitzer, an elected official who’s built his career on fighting crime and those who subvert justice, made a conscious decision to hire a prostitute, violate several federal laws, ON VALENTINE’S DAY no less, and sully his reputation and break the heart of his family.

No one is perfect, we all make mistakes, but these were the kinds of mistakes Spitzer took an oath to prosecute, not commit. It is the height of hypocrisy. Just like when you read about religious leaders preaching tolerance, ethics and kindness, but instead commit heinous acts of moral turpitude. This type of violation coming from the very people we look to for setting the standard we should all hope to live by — well — it just stings all the more.

Is there ANYONE with power who isn’t corrupt? It just proves the statement by Lord John Acton is true, we can’t trust ANYONE with too much money, too much power, too much fame or “absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

Every. Single. Time.