I’ll never forget the one and only time I met Elliot Spitzer. I was the “consumer
reporter” for a TV station in town and in 1998 Spitzer had just won election to the
State Attorney General’s office. I called his people and told them I wanted to do a
getting to know you kind of interview in his office down at the Capitol. They
tried to politely refuse but I used an old trick that always works. I said, “Open your
book and pick 10 minutes any time, day or night in the next six months and I’ll be
there.” Its kind of hard for someone to say ‘no’ to that.
Spitzer was running late so as I sat in his office I had a chance to re-read his
bio- “Almost a perfect score on his high school SAT’s, he attended Princeton
University where he was elected chairman of the student government. He then
got a perfect score on his LSAT (I think the legendary attorney Clarence Darrow
would get at least one answer wrong) he went on to Harvard Law School where
he became editor of the Harvard Law Review. By the time the guy was 25 he
pretty much did everything but cure cancer although I should point out no one
asked him to. To top it all off the pictures on his desk looked like models he cut
out of the Sear’s catalogue. They were of his beautiful wife and three darling
daughters.
Spitzer offered a handshake and a smile and I’ll never forget my first question-
“Are you for real?” I mean the guy was so clean he squeaked when he walked.
Rather than be offended he let out a big belly laugh and assured me he was flesh
and blood. Ten minutes later I was convinced he was the smartest, nicest, and
well intentioned politician I’d ever met.
Over the next eight years I think we all saw he was the real deal taking on
anyone who broke the law. Even my republican friends admitted he was the best
choice for governor and many voted for him. In fact the best thing that could
happen for the GOP in this state would be for Spitzer to be such a success as
Governor that the National Democratic Party taps him for something bigger and
better in Washington in four years.
All that said, I hope he can fix the most dysfunctional legislature in the country. I
know his heart is in it but the reality is it takes three to tango in this state and if
Joe Bruno and Shelly Silver aren’t on board nothing gets done. George Pataki
had many lofty promises of revitalizing the economy and cutting waste. Before
his 12 years were through the conservative Pataki was voting more like a liberal
Kennedy from Massachusetts.
This is a state where everyone has their hand out and no politician wants to be
the guy to say no. Lets hope this time we have a man who is willing to make the
tough choices on property tax cuts, school funding and campaign reform. I’m
reminded of a quote from Mario Coumo, “We campaign in poetry but govern in
prose.” Put another way sometimes you can’t keep your promises. Spitzer has
promised to fix that broken dysfunctional machine on Eagle Street. I believe Elliot
Spitzer is for real, lets all hope the guy with the perfect test scores and Harvard
law degree is willing to dig in his heels and push back when the special interest
groups try to turn him inside out like they did to Pataki.
