The Political Inquirer

Admiral William “Fox” Fallon resigned as head of CentCom on Tuesday, reportedly in protest over the President’s push for war with Iran.

The Esquire article that heralded the admiral’s demise was labeled everything from a mis-fired puff piece to a gross act of insubordination, and as usual, the real story — War with Iran Imminent! — was ignored. Instead, the storyline involved the press own fascination with itself (an Esquire story started it!) and the nuance associated with reading tea leaves in the highest cafes of power. Did he jump or was he pushed? Fall on his sword or get knifed in the back?

But that was only if you found the story, under the fold or after the “Breaking News” and tomorrow’s weather.

Governor Elliot Spitzer of New York resigned from office on Wednesday, two days after it was revealed he was being investigated by federal authorities for violating The White-Slave Traffic Act of 1910, colloquially known as The Mann Act.

In the hurly-burly of political news reporting, be it in print, on-line, or televised cable, network, and local news programs, decisions must be made about how to allocate column inches and broadcast time. Competitive organizations watch for opportunities to grab consumers attention, and hold it through the commercials - or the jump to page 34, or even through the damn pop-up ads on that news web-site you like so much.

We have to be motivated to stay through the break, turn the page or click the mouse. The editors, managers, directors and producers all know that after a hard days work Joe Six-Pack doesn’t want to hear that the military leadership is resigning as George Walker Bush launches the third major conflict of his Administration. But promise him “Four-Thousand Dollar Hookers” and the TV viewer will get a beer during the commercial and be right back in his lazy-boy, the on-line surfer will slurp up a bong hit while the web-page loads, and Subway Sam will turn to page 34 even if he has to deal with the NY Times while hanging from a strap.

As a politics-obsessed New Yorker, I love everything about the Spitzer Sex Scandal. He’s a “man of the people” spending more money for an hour of sex than most people pay for their second car. He’s been trying to collect New York State sales taxes from internet retailers, literally nickel and diming his constituents, while he patronizes mob-run blackmarkets. Most ironic of all, the same abuses of the Fourth Amendment he championed as a zealous crime-fighter now have been used against him to destroy his life and career. You just can’t get better value for your entertainment dollar than in New York politics.

In The Fox and the Hound by Daniel Mannix, the Fox is shielded by his boyhood friend (the Hound) in a final confrontation with the Hunter. The parallel to today’s story is how the Hound story has been thrown into our field of vision, shielding the Fox story from prolonged exposure and examination. Which begs the question, where did the hound story come from? Spitzer was the target of a Federal probe. The Bush Administration may have coordinated the leak — completely irresistable to the New York centered national media — to keep the Fox story, and all of its ramificatiaons, out of the limelight. The Hound of Albany cooperated by making one quick appearance Monday night (ahead of the Fox story) and going to ground in Manhattan until Wedneday, giving the “news-cycle” three turns with 1) the humiliating apology stand-up with betrayed spouse — a must photo/vid clip for every news org, 2) the brownstone stakeout all day Tuesday (”he’s still inside…I think his wife is pissed off…he could resign at any moment…he’s inside with his wife…he could resign any minute…his wife must be pissed…”), and 3) a final stand-up, with spouse, for an official “I’m outta here”.

Meanwhile, the guy in charge of everything from Mombasa to Ust Kamenogorsk, including Darfur, the Horn of Africa, Iran, Iraq, all the ’stans’ from Afghan to Uzbek, and everyone of Israel’s neighbors, the guy in charge of US military operations in the largest contiguous “hot zone” on the planet, well he just had a fight with the President and walked out. I’d like to know what’s up with that, but I keep getting distracted.