What are the real motives behind Meade Alexander's hiring Spenser in the novel, The Widening Gyre?

Alexander hires Spenser to deal with a blackmail tape of Ronni with a young man, but his motives are not political. Meade wants to shelter his wife, the woman he loves, from the public scandal and humiliation that would ensue if such a tape were to be made public. Meade would give up his entire career to spare Ronni that experience, even after he has watched her betray him. Although Meade is nearly a caricature of a conservative politician, he expresses his humanity in his unwavering, illogical devotion to his wife.