One day after the airing of the last episode of The Wire–the topical urban TV drama in which nearly every idealistic reformer is either undone by his/her personal demons or is corrupted by the quest for power–New York’s Eliot Spitzer sees his political career potentially torpedoed by his patronage of a prostitution ring. For those who don’t recall, Spitzer’s ascendence was due largely to his image as an ethically-beyond-reproach Attorney General. With the help of “more powerful prosecutorial tools than any official in the country“, he took on and bested huge, influence-wielding industries (insurers, investment bankers), getting himself named “Crusader of the Year” and “the people’s champion” by Time Magazine in 2002.

Now, just like [insert idealistic Wire character here], it appears his quest to change the world may be largely done.