No. Unless she absolutely wants to. What humiliation. Ask any woman who has suffered this kind of betrayal…but wait for about ten or 15 years and then ask her…when she can think straight. And for those who say this is a victimless crime? I disagree. I don’t care about the prostitution (as long as the “girls” are in it willingly) but I DO care about the woman who has to suffer such humiliation at the hands of someone she thought cared about her. And what about the chances of passing along an STD? She would not have known about this if he hadn’t been caught.

I do like the “folding-chair-upside-the-head-at-the-news-conference” idea quite a lot. Silda’s face was just too painful to see, especially for those of us who have been in similar situations. As others have said she couldn’t be in a more perfect situation at the moment: 1. To show her daughters what a strong, independent woman does in the face of a man humiliating himself and attempting to smear her and them with his gook. Leave him. 2. Her face and visible pain should go far to getting the biggest settlement possible.

I agree with Shannon Fitzpatrick’s comment. Who are we to judge what should be done in this situation? Silda should do what is right for her and her three daughters. And, she should do it with the media respecting her privacy, if that is at all possible. She is due this at the very least.

I completely agree with Marlo - watching Silda up there, eyes glassy, made my heart hurt.

Silda Spitzer’s face spoke volumes. She looked over his shoulder to shield her eyes from gawkers and cameras. How sad. How pitiful. She looked utterly shell-shocked, like a victim numb to the circus around her. She might have been thrown up there with him. He might have just grabbed her hand and led her to the stage thinking that’s where she belonged. Give her a few days, a few weeks. The pain will surface and the anger. “Hell hath no fury like a woman scroned.”

IT WAS SO SAD TO SILDA SPITZER, SUCH DISPAIR. HER WHOLE WORLD CAME CRUSHING DOWN. SHE HELD HER SELF LIKE A LADY. SHE OBVIOUSLY TOOK HER MARRIAGE VOWS SERIOUSLY, IN GOOD TIMES AND BAD. WE DONT WALK IN HER SHOES. I FOR ONE WOULD NOT HAVE DONE IT. LET HIM FACE HIS OWN MUSIC.

Barely forty eight hours after International Womens’ Day comes an issue that sends out questions to women around the world. The Spitzer shenanigan grabbed global headlines. Gov. Eliot made unwise decisions on his own and should have been ‘man’ enough to face the music alone…without his wife in tow. ‘Should Silda Spitzer stand by her man?’. Counselling, time-out and prayer can help a woman grapple with the trauma of betrayal and the grief of her children. Standing ‘Hillary-style’ next to a man who has disgraced himself and his family only sends out a message that endorses his behaviour. Often times it comes across as the woman sacrificing her personal pain in a bid to hold on to the prestige of the husband’s office. To stand by her man in marriage is her decision alone. To stand by her man when he merely apologizes after his wrong-doing has been exposed, lends neither of them any credibility. To stand by him if he accepted his mistake unconditionally, apologized and resigned as Governor would be the courageous and honourable thing for both of them to have done…provided Silda decided to give their marriage another chance.

No woman should publicly stand by her man if he has to take blame for whatever infidelity or public humiliation he has committed. Why must women share that humiliation? Jackie wasn’t held to any standard for hangin’ with Jack’s infidelities because the press protected him. But looking back, who is to judge anyone’s relationships? No one can judge the Spitzer marriage but the Spitzer’s. His behavior is not that unusual for a powerman who will take narcissitic risks to satisfy his ego at any cost. Kennedy, Roosevelt,Clinton,Rickefeller, and on and on. This is not rare behavior, but it’s costly in a society as sex obsessed and morally judgemental as ours. Do I like what he did? No. Was I surprised? Yes. But he will have to resign and she should not have had to stay by his side. Whatever, after he resigns their decision is theirs to make. Women still believe that “getting” a man is the most important thing in the world. This is why I believe we often do not behave or vote in our own best interests. But that’s another story. It’s too bad Spitzer didn’t have the guts to make his speech standing alone.

I imagine that what Silda Spitzer feels like doing will change from moment to moment over the next months. Right now maybe she’s numb with shock or maybe not. We can armchair “quarterback” here and think that she didn’t have a clue. But after so many years of marriage maybe she knew her husband was a jerk and let it slide. Whatever the case may have been, her private pain is now public. My guess is that it’s darn near impossible to go back to whatever was the status quo in their marriage. It’s so sad that she is being subjected to such public humiliation and that her every move will be flyspecked by everyone and their sister-in-law. She and her daughters are in my prayers.

i know this is a heavy subject and this is my first post and all, but, marlo thomas is on this site? dang! i believe i will be visiting often.

A better question would have been should Spitzer be allowed to avoid legal charges for his violations of the law just for resigning as Governor?

I guess my stance is that if she sticks by her husband, a man who has no respect for her, what is she teaching her daughters? Regardless of what the outcome of his governership, she owes it to herself and her daughters to give herself the respect that every individual deserves (okay, maybe not every individual - especially him right now).

I can’t believe we’re even asking this question in a public forum. I’m sure Silda has already chewed out her husband’s sorry ass behind closed doors. (As is her right!) However, what she decides to do with her husband and her children should not be influenced by the opinions of strangers like me. We should all BUTT OUT.

Friends: He was alone with the hooker, he should stand alone to face the world. Silda was a brave woman and, obviously, stood there because she was thinking about her three daughters. PS - Mr. Spitzer, BTW, where was your security detail at the time?

Dump him. She is a smart woman in her own right. Cut loose and live your life Silda!