Playing out the final scene of an almost Shakespearean drama, New York Governor Eliot Spitzer resigned in disgrace today after revelations that he had been caught on wiretaps arranging to meet a high-priced call girl in a Washington hotel.

The cushioned exit of Stan O’Neal as CEO of Merrill Lynch & Co. this week was proof again that nothing succeeds at the top levels of business like not succeeding.

O’Neal is to receive a reported $161.5 million in stock options and retirement benefits. He was ushered out because he had lost favor with his board after announcing that the company had a $2.24 billion quarterly loss.

While $161.5 million seems like enough to get by on, it doesn’t equal amounts received by other dismissed executives.