My heart aches for Silda Wall Spitzer. Not only do she and her children have to weather the storm brought on by her misguided husband, she also has to endure the judgments of the commentariat, many of whom have asked, with some frequency, why on earth she would stand by her man during his public -- and anemic -- mea culpa.

As someone who has stood by her politician husband during his public -- and anemic -- mea culpa, all I can say is: It’s a personal decision. There’s no right or wrong answer.

Progressives have worked so hard to elect Democrats to represent our demands for ethics reform -- this is a slap in the face to everyone that has contributed money to the party in the hopes that they would represent our values on this matter.

Progressives that champion transparency, ethics, and accountability in government should feel betrayed. New York Democrats will have a lot of work to do to regain the trust, not just of average New York voters, but also of core constituents.