White House Chronicle

News Analysis With a Sense of Humor

  • Home
  • King’s Commentaries
  • Random Features
  • Photos
  • Public Speaker
  • WHC Episodes
  • About WHC
  • Carrying Stations
  • ME/CFS Alert
  • Contact Us

Eliot Spitzer and the Parallel Life Phenomenon

March 17, 2008 by White House Chronicle Leave a Comment


The two most effective and reprehensible spies of he Cold War were the Briton Kim Philby and the American Aldrich Ames. They were both professionals in the espionage business who betrayed their countries and caused the deaths of untold Western agents in the Soviet Union.

In style and personality, Philby and Ames did not share much in common. There is no compelling evidence that they yearned for the triumph of communism over capitalism. This separated them from the atomic spies Klaus Fuchs and Julius Rosenberg: They were traitors who believed in the Soviet enterprise.

Perhaps, Philby and Ames shared the desire to live two lives in parallel.

Perhaps, it was New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s desire for a parallel life–a secret but concurrent existence—that propelled his elaborate patronage of an escort service. Spitzer did not pick up a sex worker in a bar, make eye contact with her across a crowded room, but planned, financed and orchestrated the betrayal of his wife and public life.

It seems that Spitzer wanted something more than sex. He was not Bill Clinton redux. He was a man who clearly got some satisfaction from the structure of his infidelity; the pseudo-romance of it.

Here was a man of huge public life, pursuing a private life that he sought to make larger than sex alone would require. The analogy with the world of espionage fits. Here was a man in the sun who wanted to be in the shade at the same time.

John le Carre, the great espionage writer, has explored this lifestyle duality in his characters. In his novel, “A Perfect Spy,” the protagonist, Magnus Pym, tries to explain the rewards of his two lives by telling his son what it is like to be “well run.” Here, le Carre reveals the perfect spy: the person who wants to live two lives at full speed.

Not all secret lives are confined to spies and governors who want complexity in their sex lives. There are, for example, bigamists—people who feel compelled to have more than one family simultaneously, often at great risk. I know a man who maintained two families until the truth came out. The stress and strain must have been terrible, but he was very happy with the parallel families. Playwright and theater critic Kenneth Tynan was the product of a bigamist marriage. The truth was not revealed until his father’s funeral, when the two families collided.

Of course, not all secret lives are dangerous and lead to national betrayal or the suffering of families. Some are quite innocent and involve an escape from the reality of the first life. They include the huge gambit of people who belong to secret societies, mostly innocent, and to cross-dressers.

Clearly for Spitzer, a brilliant academic career, a seemingly perfect family and great success in public life were not enough. He wanted to put his talent to work at diverting money, initiating complex logistics, and spending a little time with a high-priced sex worker in a hotel room. It looks as though he wanted the life of those he used to prosecute.

Alas for Spitzer, his secret life is public and his public life is in shreds. No hiding place now.

Filed Under: King's Commentaries Tagged With: Aldrich Ames, Eliot Spitzer, John le Carre, Julius Rosenberg, Kenneth Tynan, Kim Philby, Klaus Fuchs, spies

White House Chronicle on Social

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Vimeo
  • YouTube
The Day Peace Broke Out Between Kissinger and Schlesinger

The Day Peace Broke Out Between Kissinger and Schlesinger

Llewellyn King

Henry Kissinger has died age 100. I remember him through his archrival, James Schlesinger. April 24, 1980, was a bleak day for the United States. It was the day we lost helicopters and eight men in the desert during Operation Eagle Claw, the failed attempt to rescue the hostages held by Iran. Two Washington titans were […]

Enjoying a Feast of Knowledge With an Extraordinary Writer

Enjoying a Feast of Knowledge With an Extraordinary Writer

Llewellyn King

Last week, British bestselling author Simon Winchester wondered aloud whether we have too much information — so much so that it impedes our thinking. At the Providence Athenaeum in Rhode Island, he spoke about his new and compelling book, “Knowing What We Know: The Transmission of Knowledge From Ancient Wisdom to Modern Magic.” Winchester wondered […]

Never Have So Many Had Reason to Be Thankful for So Much

Never Have So Many Had Reason to Be Thankful for So Much

Llewellyn King

With the world seemingly teetering between democracy and authoritarianism, you might feel overshadowed by gloom this Thanksgiving. With some parts of the world torn by savage war and others wracked by persistent poverty and hopelessness, giving thanks may seem like a stretch. But make no mistake: More people than ever are living on this planet, and […]

Postcard from Vlore, Albania

Postcard from Vlore, Albania

Linda Gasparello

As Youth Flee Albania, an American Calls It Home Children on a school outing to the National Museum of Independence in this coastal city form a ring around me. “What is your name?” asks a self-assured girl, who seems to be the captain of a team of girlfriends, all around age 10. I reply, “Linda.” […]

Copyright © 2023 · White House Chronicle Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in