CBS: WaPo’s Quinn Compares Spitzer’s Wife to ‘Taliban Women’

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By Kyle Drennen | March 11, 2008 - 17:49 ET

NewsBusters.org - Media Research CenterOn Tuesday’s CBS "Early Show," co-host Maggie Rodriguez did a segment on "why powerful men cheat," in the wake of Eliot Spitzer’s sex scandal, and talked to guests Dr. Sari Locker, a sex expert, and Washington Post reporter Sally Quinn, who said of Spitzer’s wife as well as other wives of cheating politician husbands: "The wife is always standing there while the husband is -- is apologizing. And -- I look at those women, and I think they might as well be in Perda, they might as well be Taliban women with scarves over their heads standing there because not once has any woman ever said, this is not acceptable."

Dr. Locker added to the discussion by condemning Spitzer and demanding his wife speak out:

And I'll tell you, I want it to stop because the fact is, in his inauguration speech, Governor Spitzer said that he wants to transform this government into something that is as ethical and wise as all of New York. And as a New Yorker, I'm appalled. And as a woman, though, I want to see his wife also say that she's appalled. So, I think it's time for women to really stop letting this happen.

Quinn later went to explain that some wives of politicians remain silent to hold on to political power, citing one example in particular:

QUINN: ...you know, you have to look at the motivations that the wives -- I mean, a lot of these wives' power is derivative. I mean, for instance, Hillary Clinton would not be running for president if her husband had not been running for president.

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RODRIGUEZ: Wow, but that's quite a price to -- that's quite a price to pay for that.

QUINN: Of course it is. And they all pay a price. But the fact is that they have their own, obviously, their own ambitions, too.

RODRIGUEZ: Right.

QUINN: And for some reason they don't want to give up the power, they don't want to give up their own ambitions.

RODRIGUEZ: Well that's sad.

QUINN: Particularly if it's derivative

RODRIGUEZ: If that's true, that's terribly tragic.

Here is the full transcript of the segment:

7:12AM TEASER:

HARRY SMITH: Up next, why powerful men cheat. We're going to take a look at Eliot Spitzer and the long line of public figures involved in sex scandals.

7:22AM TEASER:

MAGGIE RODRIGUEZ: Coming up in our next hour, politicians caught in sex scandals. We're going to take a look at why powerful men cheat.

7:30AM TEASER:

JON STEWART: But obviously, the big story tonight known by anyone with a television or a Google alert set to prostitute.

DAVE LETTERMAN: Thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. I've been thinking about something. Let me ask you a question. Do you think it's too soon to be hitting on Mrs. Eliot Spitzer?

JAY LENO: New York Governor Eliot Spitzer admitted publicly he was involved in a prostitution ring. Which means Hillary Clinton now only the second angriest wife in the state of New York.

RODRIGUEZ: Oh, you knew they were going to have fun with that. Late-night TV comics taking cracks at the Spitzer scandal last night, and you know it's just beginning. Governor Spitzer's just one of several politicians in the last few years caught up in a sex scandal. Coming up, we'll look at why powerful men cheat.

7:31AM SEGMENT:

MAGGIE RODRIGUEZ: But first, as we've been reporting, New York Governor Eliot Spitzer once known as 'Mr. Clean' has been linked to a high-priced prostitution ring. He now joins a long line of powerful men forced to go public with their extramarital relationships.

GARY HART: It was a very, very bad mistake. I've already said that, I will continue to say it. I have to live with that for the rest of my life.

BILL CLINTON: Indeed, I did have a relationship with Miss Lewinsky that was not appropriate. In fact, it was wrong.

JIM MCGREEVEY: I engaged in adult consensual affair with another man. Which violates my bonds of matrimony.

JIMMY SWAGGERT: I have sinned against you, my Lord.

RUSS MITCHELL: A Louisiana Senator has been linked to the D.C. Madam case.

DAVID VITTER: I want to again offer my deep, sincere apologies to all those I have let down and disappointed. I am completely responsible, and I'm so very, very sorry.

ELIOT SPITZER: I have acted in a way that violates my obligations to my family, but I have disappointed and failed to live up to the standard I expected of myself. I must now dedicate some time to regain the trust of my family.

RODRIGUEZ: Joining us to talk about this, Dr. Sari Locker, a sex educator and psychologist, and Sally Quinn, a Washington Post reporter and capitol insider. Good morning to both of you ladies.

SARI LOCKER: Good morning.

SALLY QUINN: Hi.

RODRIGUEZ: Sari, looking at that, it really puts it in perspective. So many of them have done it. Why do powerful men cheat?

SARI LOCKER: First of all, they want sex from someone other than they're wife. They want what they're not getting at home. Often it's very specific types of sex that they want. But it's also, they think they can get away with it. There's no emotional connection. In this case I think that Governor Spitzer thought he was buying privacy, and we know that in this day and age you can't buy any type of privacy.

RODRIGUEZ: Here's the thing, Governor Spitzer especially, prosecuted these kinds of prostitution rings. He knows how they work, he knows the kind of investigation that goes into it. Sally, shouldn't he have known better?

SALLY QUINN: Well, shouldn't they all have known better? They do it exactly because they can get away with it. And there's a certain arrogance that comes with power. But, you know, there's another part of this, too. In fact, this is so loaded on so many different levels. I mean, there's the sort of moral issue that these people will claim to be moral so that you've got the hypocrisy issue. And then there's the idea of the women. In every one of those cases, you see the wife standing by her husband, no matter whether it's Hillary Clinton or Mrs. Livingston or, you know, I can go on and on and on. The wife is always standing there while the husband is -- is apologizing. And -- I look at those women, and I think they might as well be in Perda, they might as well be Taliban women with scarves over their heads standing there because not once has any woman ever said, this is not acceptable. And the message that's coming across, because these women stand by the men and because they accept it, the message comes across to young women and young men as well, no matter whether you lie or cheat or humiliate your wife --

RODRIGUEZ: Yeah, she's going to stand by you.

QUINN: It's okay. You can grow up to be president. You can grow up to be senator or governor, and it's okay. And I --

RODRIGUEZ: I watched that video of Spitzer, and I can't take my eyes off his wife. She looks crushed, collapsed, humiliated. She can't even look up. Why do they do it, doctor? Why do they stand there and face the humiliation?

LOCKER: I don't know. And I'll tell you, I want it to stop because the fact is, in his inauguration speech, Governor Spitzer said that he wants to transform this government into something that is as ethical and wise as all of New York. And as a New Yorker, I'm appalled. And as a woman, though, I want to see his wife also say that she's appalled. So, I think it's time for women to really stop letting this happen.

RODRIGUEZ: And here's the thing. Because he's such an ethical guy -- go ahead, Sally. Did you want to jump in on that?

QUINN: No, I was going to say that, you know, you have to look at the motivations that the wives -- I mean, a lot of these wives' power is derivative. I mean, for instance, Hillary Clinton would not be running for president if her husband had not been running for president.

RODRIGUEZ: Wow, but that's quite a price to -- that's quite a price to pay for that.

QUINN: Of course it is. And they all pay a price. But the fact is that they have their own, obviously, their own ambitions, too.

RODRIGUEZ: Right.

QUINN: And for some reason they don't want to give up the power, they don't want to give up their own ambitions.

RODRIGUEZ: Well that's sad.

QUINN: Particularly if it's derivative

RODRIGUEZ: If that's true, that's terribly tragic.

LOCKER: Maggie, from a psychological perspective, there is something else going on here. I think that Governor Spitzer is self-destructive. I think he had this understanding that he'd get caught, and he had a compulsive drive.

RODRIGUEZ: Maybe. A little self-sabotage there.

LOCKER: Yes.

RODRIGUEZ: Alright.

QUINN: But he's not the only one. Every one of these guys knows they're going to get caught. So that they are taking -- it's a risk-taking venture.

RODRIGUEZ: You know, we could talk about this for days.

QUINN: As well as a moral issue.

RODRIGUEZ: Sally Quinn, Sari Locker, thank you both so much, appreciate it.

LOCKER: Thank you.

—Kyle Drennen is a news analyst at the Media Research Center.

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A lot of time is being

A lot of time is being spent on "why is the wife ______?" Is this really necessary?

___________________________________ 

If you can read this, thank a teacher. If it is in English, thank a Soldier. - My barber

»→ Sally Quinn ROFLMAO!

QUINN: ...you know, you have to look at the motivations that the wives -- I mean, a lot of these wives' power is derivative. I mean, for instance, Hillary Clinton would not be running for president if her husband had not been running for president.

Quinn, you ignorant s#*t,  Did you learn nothing from Chris Matthews?

♣ a seal

Quinn being the expert on

Quinn being the expert on how to work your way up the ladder for social political power in DC.

Of course some women stand by their men for the power in their own circles...they love it as much as he does.

I find it appalling too but that is the way it is...and will continue to be so.

I heard today Spitzer's wife wants him to fight on for his job...of course this is via the msm.

BT, I was just about to post

BT,

I was just about to post this regarding Ms. Quinn's expertise in using marriage to achieve and keep power (then my screen jumped and I lost everything).

From The Washingtonian:
"She (Quinn) also married her boss, Ben Bradlee, then the Post’s executive editor.
Quinn and Bradlee hosted boozy, elegant dinner parties at their Georgetown home; Quinn wrote novels and a book about being a hostess. She picked a fight with Hillary Rodham Clinton when the latter was First Lady and deemed the Clintons not fit for the Washington social scene."

Chris... Yep, that is our

Chris...

Yep, that is our little expert alright.

I think they are called political whores....social and all that jazz. 

It gets confusing as to who

It gets confusing as to who is what, you know what I mean? :)

I actually

find this quite refreshing coming from a probable dem supporter, writer for the WaPo, who also probably fancies herself a feminist ...

After all ... We have YET to hear from the feminists and women's groups regarding the women in the M.E. ... let alone hear one reference one as being oppressed ... AND poke at a "loyal" wife who right now has her husband's mess on her shoes ... WHO doesn't say S**T! when they step in it?

 

 

When you men get home and face an anti-war protestor, look him in the eyes and shake his hand. Then, wink at his girlfriend because she knows she’s dating a pussy… ~ Attributed to General Tommy Franks

Right, a feminist who

Right, a feminist who married her boss, and subsequently became known as the "doyenne" of DC Social Life, a position that, I'm sure, had nothing to do with who she was married to.

She might want to think twice before talking about women whose power is "derivative."

 

I don't know about her

I don't know about her writing in the WaPo, but do you recall her disasterous stint on the CBS Morning News? I don't think it lasted all that long.

Wow Chris, I had forgotten

Wow Chris, I had forgotten all about that...it didn't last all that long if memory serves me, which it may not at times like this, it was long ago now....lol.

BT, I looked it up. She

BT,

I looked it up. She lasted 150 days. I was just a young teenager at the time, but I remember the whole thing was like a laughingstock of disaster. Of course, there wasn't all that much television to talk about back then - three networks, PBS ("Educational TV"), and one, maybe two, UHF stations :)

Lord those were the days eh Chris

I didn't think it was tthat long...thanks...

Lord those were the days eh Chris?

Turning antennas too if the wind blew them around, through winter and summer.....lol.

We didn't have cable or satellite to say the least back then yet, let alone clickers, you actually had to get off your rear and turn the station...oh the inhumanity of it all! 

"...you actually had to get

"...you actually had to get off your rear and turn the station."

Thank goodness, there were only like five stations to choose from!

I remember how proud my dad was when we hoisted our first tall antenna pole (that wasn't mounted to the chimney) with the remote controlled rotor on top - remember those? It was like NASA or something! :)

I forgot all about

I forgot all about those....one of my friends had one though.

Man we are getting older...

Can you imagine kids today having these choices...LMAO!

Yeah, we might as well tell

Yeah, we might as well tell them we chiseled on stone tablets. I remember my dad persuading my mom to buy a color console (!)television, by rhapsodizing on "how beautiful the scenery in Bonanza will be in color". I turn past showings of Bonanza on TV Land, and I see now, the damned thing was filmed inside on a sound stage! Geez, we were innocent...

Chris... ROFL...that it

Chris...

ROFL...that it was on a soundstage....but still beautiful in color to us.

Glad in my older age we have those clickers now....hehheeee

Yeah, of course if my dad

Yeah, of course if my dad had a clicker and Keith Olbermann had been on back then - we also would've had a gaping burning hole right through the middle of the screen - plasma, LCD, or otherwise... :)

I do agree with this that

I do agree with this that Quinn said, though (except I don't think the Taliban part is relevant): "The wife is always standing there while the husband is -- is apologizing......[ ]...not once has any woman ever said, this is not acceptable."

I said yesterday I thought she was nuts. Divorcing him or not is her choice, but only he stood to gain from having her there (My wife supports me, why can't all of you?) She just looks pathetic. Why any woman would do that, I can't figure out.

mb,I'd like to think

mb,

I'd like to think it's because of "Until death do us part", but you have to wonder...

Chris, I don't have a

Chris, I don't have a problem with her staying with him, if she wants to do that...I just don't see why she had to humiliate herself by standing up there and publicly "supporting" him.

Jeez, she's up there basically saying "my husband frequented prostitutes and I'm OK with that."

You know, Rush said today that guys do that to get across the message "See, my wife forgives me, and you should do." Even if I stayed, I wouldn't be helping my husband put a better face on it!

Why just men?

Why are they acting like only men cheat?  I've met several women cheaters in my single days and had to reject all of them (OK, both of them).   Fact is that nearly as many wives cheat as husbands do.  My wife told me the other day that she was appauled at the number of women who had cheated on their husbands in her Bible study class.  It's not just men that cheat.  

 



"To send men to the firing squad, judicial proof is unnecessary." Ernesto "Che" Guevara


Sally oh Sally

Didn't Sally Quinn carry on an affair with Ben Bradlee while he was still married?  Sincer they are prominent Democrats it may not count. It does make her statements curious though.

But wait! There's more!

From HERE:

IF you thought the affair between Vogue's Anna Wintour and reggae star
Bob Marley was a shocker, how about the fling between Sally Quinn, the
wife of legendary Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee, and the late
Hunter S. Thompson? In the new oral biography "Gonzo: The Life of
Hunter S. Thompson," Quinn reveals she met Thompson during the 1972
election and that he was obsessed with D.C. gossip, wonkette.com
reports. "He was always pumping me . . . He never talked about his
wife
," Quinn is quoted. "Whenever he came to Washington, he'd give me a
call . . . I've always been attracted to renegades. I was not
intimidated by his bad-boy reputation. These kind of guys are always
sweetie pies underneath . . . It was not serious. For me it was just
fun, but I adored him . . . He would always open the door for me, and
whenever he'd meet me, he'd be standing there with a little bouquet of
flowers. There was something so incredibly touching about him. I don't
think I've ever been treated as well by anybody in my life as I was by
Hunter."

Seems like she can't keep her hands off of married men. What a hypocrite!

 



"To send men to the firing squad, judicial proof is unnecessary." Ernesto "Che" Guevara


90 GRAND and still "working" for the people.

$90,000.00 in the freezer

However Eliots' (fox) hooker totals are way more than this amount.

Will he resign?

humm 6 years Twice a month ( 6 X 24 X 5K) $5,000.00 a pop (eew)..

$720,000.00 in tax payer dollars...

Sending a really nice burka to all DEMOCRATIC wives, may be in order.

 

 

Iranian uranium; Iranian ICBM's; Iranian satellites..CHANGE is comming BELIEVE in that!

 

Her power is NOT

Her power is NOT derivative...it is just all consuming. As a Taliban wife she would be killed if she took a stand. As an American wife of a powerful Democrat she is simply as bad a he is. She has a choice to move on (A Harvard lawyer ain't gonna go hungry in the 'hood if she leaves). She is as much to blame as he is. What a simpering wuss to stand there and take it, looking like the poor abused female. The only abused women in all this are the Spitzer's daughters who have no choice but to see their family fall to seduction...of prostitution - both by gorgeous expensive hookers and public power. SHAME ON ALL OF THEM!

 

"All great change in America begins at the dinner table" Ronald Reagan, Jan 21, 1981

EC... Yep, the only ones

EC...

Yep, the only ones who I feel for are the daughters.

Goodbye Steamroller, Hello Segway

And as a woman, though, I want to see his wife also say that she's
appalled. So, I think it's time for women to really stop letting this
happen.

I cant say I share the above sentiments. Its fine with me if Mrs Spitzer wants to keep this private. Because I have no doubt in my mind that shes well aware the only thing smaller than Eliot's manhood, is his brain.

Whoa there lady . . . Mrs. Spitzer might object to be compared

Mrs. Spitzer might object to being compared with Hillary . . . and the MSM should step back, take a deep breath, and let things cook for a couple of days. 

Suggesting that "Governor Spitzer is self-destructive" is another step over the MSM line of "reporting" . . . are you guys trying to out paparazzi the Enquirer ?  

I doubt if you or anyone else at CBS can speak to, or issue advice for, the personal situation that is going to be played out over time.