Spitzergate, the Sequel

If you thought Spitzergate would quietly fade away now, you are mistaken. It is getting ready to take off like a space shuttle from Cape Canaveral.

As soon-to-be-former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s life spirals downward, the fortunes of “Kristen” will soar. Kristen, of course, is Ashley Dupre, the hooker at the center of this firestorm.

Spitzer’s future is bleak.

He is looking at indictment for various crimes ranging from money laundering to violating the infamous Mann Act — bringing a woman across state lines for immoral purposes. He will have embarrassing court appearances. (Is there any other kind? Will loyal wife Silda appear by his side stoically again … and again?)

He will have his fingerprints and mugshot taken. The mug will be on Web sites like TMZ within hours. He probably will be disbarred, at least for a few years.

Ashley, on the other hand, will cash in big time. Pop culture is already perfectly accepting of soft porn, with sleazy reality shows in which contestants vie for the chance to “get busy” with the star/host. Ashley’s plans to sell her body in a different way will mesh well with this trend.

Her agent will command hefty fees for interviews, TV appearances, a ghost-written book, maybe even an inane TV movie-of-the-week. Playboy and Penthouse will offer big bucks for the photo spread.

Through it all, if Ashley is well-coached, she will try to come off as an innocent, plucky girl who somehow got mixed up in this darned prostitution thing.

But doggone it, despite the tough breaks life has thrown at her, she is going to overcome it all and make something of herself. (“I want to work with children.”)

Millions of gullible people will suck up every word.

Meanwhile, the Spitzer family will suffer in countless ways.

Silda will be alternately praised for standing by her man and condemned for enabling him (when she probably knew nothing about Eliot’s dark secret).

The three daughters are teenagers, yet they have to cope with their world being turned upside down … and intimate knowledge of their father’s sexual misdeeds. Yikes.

Eliot Spitzer is still a young man — 48. They said he might have been president one day.

How he will live with this humiliation for the rest of his life, and what he will do with his life for the rest of his life, are morbidly fascinating questions.

I guess we’ll watch how it all plays out.