Culture of Carousing Update: Marc Dann IS Ohio's Eliot Spitzer

Attorney General Marc Dann had an affair with an employee. He says he will not be resigning.

I'm off to lunch for a bit, but will have LOTS to say about this when I get a free moment to do so...

UPDATE 1: Back from lunch...

First, let me apologize to WMD reader "Joppy" who clearly saw more than I did in that document drop two weeks ago.

Now that we got that out of the way, let's take a look at what Ohio's Eliot Spitzer had to say for himself courtesy of the Cincinnati Enquirer:

With his lip quivering and choking back tears, he apologized to his wife, Alyssa Lenhoff, and admitted to having an inappropriate romantic relationship "in a difficult time in my marriage."

"I apologize from the bottom of my heart,'' he said.

Dann, who has been likened to former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer for his aggressive prosecutions of major corporations, is now also mired in a personal scandal likely to dog him if he runs to re-election in 2010.

But Dann said his personal failings did not require that he resign.

"This has been agonizing, personally, politically,'' Dann said.

"John Wayne once said,' Life is getting up when you've been knocked down,''' Dann said, promising to make changes in spite of his shortcomings.

Dann said he did not come clean sooner because of ongoing investigations.

Don't you dare soil the good name of John Wayne by using it conjunction with your scumbagatude, Mr. Attorney General. Now that we got that out of the way, let me say that I do think that this is a personal issue that Mr. Dann ought to resolve with his wife and family and let that be that.

There are plenty of things to criticize Dann for that deal with the performance of his office beyond thi stuff. Say what you want about Dann's record, the real cold hard truth is that his aggressive prosecution of business is an obstruction towards Ohio's economic recovery. On top of a horribe tax climate, Ohio now has the added feature of making virtually any business that makes a profit a target of the Attorney General's Office. And what business doesn't love that?

Now if we rally must make an issue of the constant stream of follies coming out of the Attorney General's office, we can do that too... Dann's affair alone isn't really worth talking about. But add his affair with an employee on to the ever expanding list of screw-ups and a really good case could be made for saying that it took Republicans nearly two decades in power to act as boldly as Marc Dann and company have in just a few months.

I'm sure Modern Esquire will call for Dann's resignation -- and I applaud him for that -- but I am not sure that we will see prominent Democrat elected officials do the same. Should the governor ask for his resignation? That is the poll over in the sidebar...you have until 8AM on Monday to make your voice heard.

UPDATE 2: The Warren Tribune Chronicle is calling for Dann's resignation. They even APOLOGIZE for endorsing Dann...

In October of 2006, the Tribune placed its support behind Marc Dann over Betty Montgomery in the race for Attorney General of Ohio. The newspaper’s editorial board said it believed that Dann’s tenacity made him the better candidate.

However, in light of announcements made during two press conferences today and the events that have transpired over the past month, the Tribune announced that it now apologizes for that endorsement.

That's pretty refreshing...I never expected to see that...