Eliot Spritzer, the popular governor of New York, made a huge series of mistakes. His choice to participate in the dark and flimsy world of prostitution will forever sully his reputation and name. His family will be subjected to accounts of his misdeeds for decades. The resulting public humiliation can crush the most buoyant of human spirits.

It is ironic that the mechanism he championed in his quest as New York's attorney general to catch many criminals, the use of wiretapping, was one of strategies used to gather information of his activities. In addition, the tracking of his financial actions moving around large sums of money to pay for his transgressions was also carefully monitored.

America loves a good scandal and this one will fill the salacious appetite of the cable networks for a long time. It gives viewers some relief from the non-stop 16-month presidential campaign that has numbed the nation. At some point the campaign news will return, but for now, the meanderings of a powerful governor frolicking with call-girls will provide a respite from the campaign coverage fatigue.

Spritzer may well face federal charges and the resulting penalties. Many will revel that a big fish was caught in the trap. Unfortunately, all of this simply reveals again how undeniably human even the biggest of personalities can be. We have watched a sitting president face articles of impeachment. We have watched athletes twist in the spotlight of criminal and drug charges. Americans seem to be spellbound by such events.

Spritzer showed remarkable perseverance and tenacity while creating his legal and political legacy in New York. He will need that same perseverance as he deals with reclaiming his personal life. His political career may be in shambles, but at this point it would seem that his healing focus would be on his family and within himself.

He willfully sought the pleasures of the flesh and got caught. The subsequent resignation of his governor's post is the least he could do for those who voted for him. How he deals with the trust of his family is for him to deal with, not the public. America has shown to be a nation that allows for second-chances. Families have shown the ability to forgive and move on. His oft-mentioned atonement will have to be genuine and complete before he can reappear on the political scene.

Those outside of his family should allow the man to regain his humanity and seek forgiveness. This in no way condones his behavior. He will pay the legal price for his actions. More importantly, he will have to find a way in his heart and soul to pay the moral penalty his character flaw demands.