The Psychology of an Eliot Spitzer. Help Me Figure This One Out.

[Mike03]

I was talking to my mom about this topic this morning. For some reason I can't let go of this news story, even though most people have moved on.
What I told my mother is that I felt he wanted to be caught because the tension within him was growing to a level that he could no longer tolerate. But that was just an armchair psychoanalysis.

I really admired this guy, and I've watched his career for quite a few years now.

The news on Monday stunned me. It still stuns me. One day, I had hoped that Spitzer might run for President of the United States.

Ordinarily, I would not hold a human being to very high standards, but for some reason I honestly trusted Spitzer. My question is, just from a psychiatric perspective, how could a human being sculpt his entire essence around the concept of propriety, yet violate the very principles he specializes in upholding, and live with himself?

I'm as flawed as any human being could ever be, but there are some things I would not do because I could not stand to look at myself in the mirror. How does a person overcome the most basic hurdles of conscience?

I don't hate Spitzer; I just want to understand how this works.

Did he know he was being hypocritical?
Was it some sort of denial, negotiation with reality, or rationalization?

I understand that most of us (at least me) have hypocritical moments, but this thing with Spitzer just blows my mind. Maybe I shouldn't feel bad for him, but I do. And I feel bad for his family, for certain.

Any insight into how Spitzer could justify this conduct in light of his successful and obsessive prosecutions would be appreciated.