Ex-N.Y. gov Eliot Spitzer, once caught up in prostitution ring, eyes comeback

He's back.

Once known as Client 9 in an indictment that busted up a prostitution ring, then New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer was identified as the man who paid $4,300 for a Mayflower Hotel rendezvous with escort Ashley Dupre. When the news broke, he resigned his office as governor.

That was in March of last year. Ever since, he has worked in his father’s real estate firm. More recently, he has started to burnish his credentials as a financial expert -- you may recall that Spitzer, as New York attorney general, terrorized Wall Street executives by threatening corruption prosecutions. These days, he's making occasional appearances as a commentator on cable news shows and writing for Slate magazine. Also going to Yankees games with his wife Silda, seen with him in the photo above at the  Aug. 25 Texas Rangers game. Sort of Rehab 101 for politicians chased from office by scandal.

Now, according to the New York Post, Spitzer is eyeing either a run for state comptroller general or a challenge to New York Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand, appointed to fill out Hillary Clinton’s term.

Calling Spitzer “the hooker-happy Democrat,” the Post quotes friends as saying that the former governor is citing recent polling that shows him more popular than the man who replaced him, his onetime lieutenant governor David Paterson.

For the record, Spitzer – who was never charged with a crime -- disavows any intention of running. Sort of.

"If by politics you mean running for office again, I've a hard time seeing politics as a career. I wouldn't want to put my family through the agony," he told Vanity Fair magazine in its July issue. "But that doesn't mean I can't participate somehow in the public debate about the issues."

Still, says the Post, a lot of those around the former governor figure it's only a matter of time before he returns to the ring. "There are people around him who want to see him [in office]," one unnamed source told the tabloid. "He sees himself there too. He loves to be in the limelight."

-- Johanna Neuman

Photo credit: Associated Press

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Comments

[grace odoreida]

Spitzer has just issued a statement saying that this story is "totally untrue," so best you take it down.

[Vox Clamantis]

I don't know if "comeback" is the most sober term to use in reference to a former governor who was caught soliciting anal sex from a prostitute.

[Louise Jones]

He could run for sheriff of Storey county Nevada.

[Peg]

He wouldn't want to put his family through the agony?? This guy has some serious disconnect issues that need to be examined.

[bob]

Let me think-Attorney General takes oath to uphold laws, prosecute wrongdoers, and hopefully lead by example-instead we have a dumbass that transfers money to escort service in a way that raises flags, commits illegal act( unless you're in parts of Nevada) and totally dishonors marriage vows. Take a good look at the picture- am I the only one that sees slimy, arrogant sleaze who in his own mind is so slick that he believes he can do whatever he wants..

[Marvin8]

Remember, MURDOCH also owns the Post, so you can expect ALL commentary towards Democrats to be an attack. Same goes for FOX, Wall St. Journal, and all other MURDOCH-owned enterprises. Take it with a truckload of salt.

[noyfbj]

It is sad really but ultimately she is an idiot for staying with him. I just wish 2 things: these idiot men would grow up, be men and quit giving the rest of us a bad name, it is despicable; and that for the sake of all the young girls in the world that look up to these women they show some guts and kick these jerks to the curb. Come on Lady's! Why did you lose your backbone when you married these pathetic excuses for men?

[William Boyd]

I'd welcome him back. His offense was
incredibly dumb, but not venal.

[Joel]

Yes! Just what is required of a governor. Someone who "loves to be in the limelight"! Who needs an ethical Governor nowadays?

[Waldo]

We try to hold our elected officials to a higher "moral" standards but this is almost always quite humanly impossible (i.e. FDR,JFK,DDE,LBJ,GWB,Thomas Jefferson, et al). Spitzer should be put back in an official capacity as sheriff of Wall Street.

[Tim B]

David Vitter wholeheartedly approves.

[Grant V]

Good news. Spitzer is far better for the country than [insert name of openly corrupt yet apparently socially upstanding politician who is actually an extreme pervert, though his/her misdeeds haven't made headlines yet].

[Townncountry]

Good to see Silda happy again. She is a whole lot clasier a lady than that Dupre slut. Smarter by a country mile, too.

But on to the Guv -- he may be rehabbing his image; and he may have been right to have threatened to investigate AIG for its unconscionable financial acts that nearly brought down the global financial system. But if he wants to come back, he cannot come back as candidate for state Attorney General -- too hypocritical a past to do that. And he cannot come back as a candidate for Governor -- too soon to forget the past. Can he challenge Sen. Gillibrand? Sure, but she's an Upstate girl, and he would cause tremendous problems for statewide unity by attempting to unseat a competent and popular Upstater. Could he challenge DiNapoli as Comptoller? Sure, again, but that's a DEM with a good record of honesty and integrity, so why mess with success? Instead, Spitzer ought to look to run for mayor against Bloomberg, or run for the post next in line for succession in NYC -- NYC Consumer Advocate. It's a title he would wear well, and it might be a decent path to redemption. At least it would put the post back into the public's eye, a place where it should belong.

[Michelle]

I sure hope Mr. Spitzer goes back into politics, or wherever he feels he can do the most good for the people. I would much rather hear the truth of what is going on in our country/markets by an abrasive type personality, than lies that the country has swallowed by the honeyed lips of the "nice" politicians.
Mr. Spitzer keep telling it like it is.