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Rehabilitating the Disreputable Eliot Spitzer
RealClearMarkets ^ | June 23, 2010 | Steven Malanga

Posted on 07/01/2010 2:41:58 PM PDT by neverdem

When F. Scott Fitzgerald observed that there are no second acts in American life, he obviously couldn't have had before him the example of Eliot Spitzer and his adoring media. Once dubbed the Crusader of the Year and the Sherriff of Wall Street, Spitzer was to the mainstream media the embodiment of an exciting new kind of Democrat, a tough-as-nails moderate who might revive the party nationally under the banner of what Fred Siegel and Michael Goodwin have dubbed "Spitzerism."

Although Spitzer's escapades with high-priced call girls brought his career crashing down in 2008, the financial crisis that began to unfold just a few months later proved an unexpected platform for the man who once referred to himself as a "f***king steamroller" to resurrect his career with astonishing speed. Amid calls that we needed Spitzer to tame Wall Street, Slate gave him a column, he started appearing as a regular guest on radio and TV shows about the crisis, and now he is apparently being considered by CNN to co-host a prime-time nightly news and opinion show. Ever the humble one, Spitzer has privately admitted to friends that he's not quite ready to tackle public office again, though at this rate anything seems possible.

Yet the media portrait of Spitzer is largely a myth which ignores his many failings, including not only ethical lapses outside of the call girl episode, but also his largely ineffective tenure as attorney general and his stint as governor, which was mercifully cut short by the scandal even as Spitzer's own party was manhandling him in Albany.

Spitzer rose to prominence in the post-Enron era of investigations into wrongdoing in markets thanks to the power of a 1921 New York law known as the Martin Act which grants prosecutors in the Empire State far greater...

(Excerpt) Read more at realclearmarkets.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Crime/Corruption; Editorial; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: clientnumber9; commentatornumber9; eliotspitzer; parkerspitz; spitzer

1 posted on 07/01/2010 2:42:01 PM PDT by neverdem
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To: neverdem

..shows just how desperate CNN is.....


2 posted on 07/01/2010 2:44:28 PM PDT by Doogle (USAF.68-73..8th TFW Ubon Thailand..never store a threat you should have eliminated)
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To: neverdem

I will personally laugh my a$$ off if the people of NY elect “the Steamroller” to anything more than dog catcher. Actually, his ideal job would be inspecting brothel whores to make sure they are “clean”. If they elect him to high office (again), then they deserve EVERYTHING they get.


3 posted on 07/01/2010 2:47:49 PM PDT by rbg81 (DRAIN THE SWAMP!!)
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To: rbg81

Just leave the cash on the dresser CNN.


4 posted on 07/01/2010 2:49:49 PM PDT by csmusaret (50,000 sailors in rowboats using mops could do a better job of cleaning the Gulf than Obama is.)
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To: cyborg; Clemenza; Cacique; NYCVirago; The Mayor; Darksheare; hellinahandcart; Chode; ...
Fran Becker to Challenge Rep. Carolyn McCarthy for NY-4

FReepmail me if you want on or off my New York ping list.

5 posted on 07/01/2010 2:54:12 PM PDT by neverdem (Xin loi minh oi)
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To: neverdem

Spitzer, Gore and Edwards should get their own show. Model it after the old “Man Show.” Use a horny poodle as a mascot. Call it Dems the Breaks.


6 posted on 07/01/2010 2:55:34 PM PDT by Tribune7 (The Democrat Party is not a political organization but a religious cult.)
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To: Tribune7

Don’t forget Bill.


7 posted on 07/01/2010 2:58:19 PM PDT by Mears
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To: neverdem
Spitzer may be a disreputable sleeze. But at least he used his onw money to rent expensive whores. Unlike some current politicians I could name who did it on the taxpayer dime.
8 posted on 07/01/2010 3:07:07 PM PDT by Vigilanteman (Obama: Fake black man. Fake Messiah. Fake American. How many fakes can you fit in one Zer0?)
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To: Tribune7

LOL!


9 posted on 07/01/2010 3:07:30 PM PDT by neverdem (Xin loi minh oi)
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To: Tribune7

“Call it Dems the Breaks.”

How about “Corrupt old horndogs?”


10 posted on 07/01/2010 3:09:25 PM PDT by swain_forkbeard (Rationality may not be sufficient, but it is necessary.)
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To: Doogle
..shows just how desperate CNN is.....

Meanwhile, back at the FoxNews ranch, Dick Morris and Newt Gingrich rake in the praise and bux. Are they somehow better folks than Spitzer because they happen to (and, in the case of Morris, who switches allegiances depending on where the money comes from) walk on the right side of the road?

11 posted on 07/01/2010 3:10:21 PM PDT by Oshkalaboomboom
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To: Oshkalaboomboom

they don’t have shows


12 posted on 07/01/2010 3:16:33 PM PDT by Doogle (USAF.68-73..8th TFW Ubon Thailand..never store a threat you should have eliminated)
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To: neverdem

Wonder if Mrs. Spitzer is still taking Xanax on a regular basis?

Yeesh...


13 posted on 07/01/2010 3:20:56 PM PDT by prairiebreeze (We don't have a leader in the Oval Office, we have a reader in the Oval Office.)
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To: neverdem
the man who once referred to himself as a "f***king steamroller"

now and forever after known as, Client #9...

14 posted on 07/01/2010 3:31:48 PM PDT by Chode (American Hedonist *DTOM* -ww- NO Pity for the LAZY)
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To: neverdem
ANYTHING TO BEAT THE LIBERAL BITCH IN MY HOME DISTRICT
15 posted on 07/01/2010 3:32:07 PM PDT by JohnLongIsland ( schmuckie schucks)
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To: Oshkalaboomboom

Eliot Spitzer’s ethical lapses go far beyond prostitution. Spitzer also made a name for himself busting prostitutes. Gingrich and Morris did not.


16 posted on 07/01/2010 4:10:22 PM PDT by sig226 (Mourn this day, the death of a great republic. March 21, 2010)
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To: neverdem

I think it'll be as easy to turn her into a demure virgin as it would be to rehabilitate Customer #9.

17 posted on 07/01/2010 6:32:31 PM PDT by Pollster1 (Natural born citizen of the USA, with the birth certificate to prove it)
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To: neverdem

Thanks for the ping!


18 posted on 07/01/2010 9:53:18 PM PDT by Alamo-Girl
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Comment #19 Removed by Moderator

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