Sort of, he got alot of his experince under Dinkins.
Under Pataki he became secretary of state, but the department is essentially a giant dumping ground for political appointees.
If he anything, he's just learned to be a more political animal and more about cronyism.
FWIT, if Golisano does get the nomination for the GOP, Pataki may endorse Spitzer or he will stay neutral....according to Patakis people.
All in all, it doesn't look terribly promising for next year in retaining the Governorship. I'm not sure I could entirely blame Pataki for wanting to sandbag Golisano, as Golisano was trying to do just that in the past election. Golisano is no loyal Republican, so Pataki certainly doesn't owe him a damn thing.