Disgraced political figure Eliot Spitzer

Eliot Spitzer is a man who had a remarkably fine record as New York's Attorney General, then Governor, before being brought down by a sex scandal.

In 2008, Spitzer fessed up to having consorted with a comely young call girl, Ashley Dupre, age 22, and resigned his governorship rather than be impeached.

Until his personal fall from grace, Spitzer appeared headed for even bigger things, perhaps even the presidency.

His education included degrees from Princeton and Harvard, and he had joined a major law firm before going to work for the office of Manhattan's District Attorney, where he took on the Gambino crime family.

As his state's Attorney General, he went after the big fish--in other words, major white collar crooks of various kinds. His efforts were so successful that he had little trouble winning in his 2007 race for Governor.

Following his resignation the very next year, reporters found out that Spitzer had done business with other prostitutes as well, and over a considerable period of time.

Spitzer's sad case is truly one of those stories of what might have been.