THE BAD: The Downfall of Eliot Spitzer

The right wing had a huge win this last week, taking down a strong, if perhaps too headstrong, Governor of New York. Eliot Spitzer got caught in a prostitution sting.

I have largely kept quiet about Spitzer. I mean from the start. When he decided to run for Governor, many of my political allies were thrilled. For awhile I heard nothing but glowing odes to the man. I felt uncomfortable about him though, and continued to feel uncomfortable. There was always an arrogance around Spitzer that bothered me.

Still, he was obviously our candidate. I met Suozzi and actually kind of liked him, but...He came off passionate, competent and an excellent candidate...for a Republican. He struck me like Bloomberg--someone who kind of is on the border between Democrat and Republican. He talked like a smart Republican, emphisizing cutting taxes, running as a CEO with a business model for government, denegrated "Bloated Unions." Spitzer got my vote. But not my enthusiasm.

And there was the NY State Democratic Convention. The 2006 NY State Democratic Convention was a disgusting, nasty farce. The assumption that Spitzer would be nominated for Governor and Cuomo nominated for Attorney General was taken to such an extreme that delegates to the convention who I know were told not to deliver proxy votes for candidates other than those two. They were told if they did they would face primary challenges as punishment. Somehow Spitzer didn't catch much blame for this. Cuomo came in for far more ire. But to me Spitzer must have been part of the nastiness of the convention.

Going along with those kinds of un-democratic tactics were Spitzer's ties to some elements from the unsavory Brooklyn Democratic machine. Carl Andrews, right hand man to now convicted Clarence Norman, is a political ally of Spitzer's. That always rubbed me wrong. Just how close was he with the very corrupt Clarence Norman and Norman's replacement, the equally corrupt Vito Lopez.

Of course there is the flip side. Spitzer was a force to be reckoned with and that is precisely what we needed in Albany. He was certainly known for standing up to some very powerful, big money interests, though he does seem favorably disposed to developers, even highly dubious characters like Bruce Ratner.

Bottom line was I was happy he got elected, but wondered what we'd get.

The elation many felt never turned into anything. Spitzer went to Albany and stumbled. The State Legislature is a mess and needs to be stood up to, but Spitzer managed to alienate even allies and reformers in the State Legistlature by largely dictating rather than working with legislators. I know some good people in the State Assembly who were thrilled when Spitzer won. But his way of dealing even with Democrats in the legislature rubbed many the wrong way. Now had he succeeded, I'd be the first to congratulate him, I admit. But his arrogance didn't help in the end.

I got the feeling that rather than replacing the corrupt "three men in a room" system in Albany with a true state government, Spitzer wanted government by one man in a room as long as that one man was himself.

Then he got caught spending thousands of dollars an hour with a prostitute. The arrogance of being the big, tough broom that cleans all before it, then waltzing into an elite brothel charging something like a fifth of a year's salary for the average American for one hour of something most of us don't need to pay for.

Now, it wasn't as awful as the Mark Foley pedophilia that Republicans like Hastert covered up and defended. And he didn't use taxpayer money to get his thrill the way Giuliani did. And he didn't pull that other Giuliani trick, forcing cops to walk the dog while he was stupping his mistress. But it was abyssmal stupidity given the number of enemies he made and his former prosecution of people for, you guessed it, hiring prostitutes.

Spitzer's arrogance has, in essence, led to about the worst series of fumbles I could imagine being made.

Seems the next Governor of New York is David Paterson. He will be the first ever black Governor of New York. He also will be the first blind Governor of New York. I welcome Governor Paterson and hope he can do a better job than the once gorified Spitzer. Many see Paterson as weaker and unwilling to go out on a limb to clean up Albany. But I say let's see. Spitzer's way failed. Maybe Paterson's way will be better.