"Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer," opens nationwide this weekend, raising provocative new questions about how New York's scandalized Democratic ex-governor got a reputation for ... wearing black dress socks during his encounters with call girls.

Director Alex Gibney is known for weightier stuff (like his Oscar-winning "Taxi to the Dark Side" ), but that doesn't stop him from pursuing the important question that shows how what he calls "sexual lies" can wreck a politician's image: Did the governor keep his socks on?

We asked Republican dirty-tricks guru Roger Stone, who claims full credit for alerting the FBI to Spitzer's fashion fail, what's feeding the prejudice against men who wear socks during sex. "It's a weird thing to do," Stone said. Does the Republican swinger with a Richard Nixon tattoo on his back really think there's something wrong with "weird"?

Keep reading to find out how the great sock scandal has affected today's working girl.

Is it ever okay to keep your socks on during a booty call?
No way! Have some self-respect. 957 (49.3%)
When you're late for the airport, why not?637 (32.8%)
Only in a commercial situation, if you're not planning to run for public office.349 (18.0%)


A guy who leaves his socks on during a session is probably just running late for his next meeting, but Stone's campaign to raise awareness about Spitzer's socks is creating unexpected paranoia.

Linda's a Manhattan call girl whose longtime clients now are self-conscious about keeping their socks on. "I have to reassure them," she says, blaming their behavior on the MSM's black socks fetish. "Spitzer's damn socks have been in the news for two years." There have always been a few clients who don't remove their socks, she explains, "because it's easy, but the other day one of my steady guys apologized."

How many ladies apologize for leaving their stockings on during sex? Isn't that what you'd call a double standard? Stone says it's an injustice he can live with. "A woman in stockings is sexy. A man in his socks is not. It's rude. I don't have sex with prostitutes," he added, "but if I did, I would take off my socks."