Spitzer steps on his own d…
I liked Eliot Spitzer, in theory, when he came roaring into Albany, taking over as our Governor from the lame George Pataki and, determined to break the stalemate between state Democrats and Republicans, promised to steamroll anyone who got in his way as he drove the unethical from the temple in one glorious sweep of righteous fury! His crash-and-burn first year was arguably predictable, but his apparent resignation today over a prostitution scandal — you have to figure there’s more to it because politicians have simply apologized for less and moved on with their careers — definitely came out of left field.
Live by the sword, die by the sword, I guess.
Interestingly, Spitzer’s seemingly aborted political career should serve as an object lesson for those who cast themselves as “fighters” in the political arena in such bi-partisan times. If you step into the ring with your dukes up, you’re guaranteed to get a fight and not much more than that. Spitzer fought hard as Governor, losing more than he won, not the least of which was the immense political capital he came into office with, some of which might have saved him today.
On the bright side, it might mean that Hillary Clinton is down another superdelegate. It’ll be interesting to see how she handles this situation. A co-worker’s suggested statement: “At least it wasn’t an intern.”
PS: On a random side note, it appears our interim Governor would be Lt. Governor David A. Paterson, a legally blind African-American man from Brooklyn, making him the first African American Governor in the state. He’d also be a supderdelegate for Clinton, albeit a seemingly reluctant one. It’ll be interesting to see if he uses Spitzer’s scandalized exit as cover to switch his support.
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