Coulter on Spitzer: Clinging to the Old-School Definition of Tragedy

In the Long, Long Ago, not only before the births of Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and even before the birth of the Reverend John Todd. Indeed, in Shakespeare's day, during the time when John McCain was but a wee lad. The definition of tragedy was, there must be a socioeconomic height from which to Fall.

Coulter's take on Eliot Spitzer is a throwback to the older model. Spitzer's "life is ruined," is a central Warrant of Coulter's essay, precisely because he is now forever stripped of his elite social status. People will no longer take him seriously. They will laugh at him.

True to form, Coulter trades in the most brazen of assertions, and verily she invites her Readers to join her in gloating over Spitzer's "tragic" fall.


Aside from Coulter's Oligarchal Worldview, there are Other facets of this gem of an article, worth considering. Here are a few assertions made by Coulter, that resonate with recent posts on The Rhetorical Situation:

Surprising no one, police wiretaps indicate that the "models" were semi-literate, could not learn to swipe a credit card and seemed invariably to be on drugs. That's what you get for $2,000 an hour in this charming business.

Behold the "victimless" crime of prostitution. Hard to believe these girls would turn to drugs. Having sex with strangers for money, nothing to live for ... just thinking about it makes me want to take drugs.

It's absurd to talk about Spitzer's problem being "hypocrisy" -- as if everything would be fine if only he had previously advocated legalized prostitution.

It's absurd to talk about legal defenses. This guy has fallen from the pinnacle of New York society to being a disgrace to his class. He's the Ivy League version of Paris Hilton.

That was always the advantage Clinton had: We never expected any better. He went from Skunk Trot, Ark., to Skunk Trot, Ark. Spitzer fell from Fifth Avenue to Skunk Trot, Ark.