The Daily Beast remains fixated on the Brooke Astor affair. Barbara Goldsmith chimes in today with a thoughtful take on the subject and why we are so riveted by its revelations of the dysfunctional rich. “Admit it,” she writes, “it wouldn’t be tabloid fodder unless there were a complicitous audience waiting to read all about it… In a recession or depression, such as we are now experiencing, public exposure of this kind of tragic situation has deep resonances. The psychological reaction is this: I may not have a fortune or social cache[t], but I have all the things these people lack — emotional support, a work ethic, a functional family and most importantly, love.” I agree. But I also think the current economic climate has made people less willing to suspend their judgment and merely worship the rich. They once again desire to know what’s going on behind the protective curtain great wealth hides behind.