Eliot Spitzer and American Ethical Perversity

Consortium News has published a rambling essay by Rabbi Michael Lerner about "Spitzer and America's Perverse Ethics." Lerner makes some insightful observations about the dramatic difference in response to the immorality of the former Governor of New York in comparison with reactions to the more egregious moral failings of the President and Vice President of the United States. Here's a quote:

The intensity of the critique of the New York governor, tied with the demand that he resign, shows more about American society's ethical perversity than about Spitzer.

The President of the United States and the Vice President, working in concert with several other high-ranking officers of our government, lied and distorted to get us involved in a war that has led to the death of over a million Iraqis, the displacement of three million more, the death of 4,000 Americans and the wounding of tens of thousands more. . . .

Meanwhile, our government has overtly engaged in torture, wiretapping of our phones, and violation of our human rights and the rights of people around the world. Senator Dianne Feinstein and Senator Charles Schumer voted to confirm as Attorney General a right-wing judge who refused to repudiate these crimes.