At midnight, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer was sworn in as the 54th Governor of New York. The NY Times reports that during the private ceremony (the public inauguration will be today at 1PM, pushed back an hour because of the weather) that federal judge Robert W. Sweet swore in his former clerk, that guests cheered, "Go get 'em, Eliot!" after he took the oath, and that a 12-liter bottle of Veuve-Clicquot was very difficult to open.
Excerpts of Spitzer's inaugural speech were released in anticipation of this afternoon. The big theme is changing Albany.
Over the last decade, we have seen what can happen when our government stands still in the face of great challenge and inevitable change. We've seen it in the burdensome property taxes and the health care we can't afford; in the jobs that have disappeared from our upstate cities and the schools that keep failing our children; in a government that works for those who hold office - not those who put them there.
The reform we seek is substantial in size and historic in scope. It will require a new brand of politics, a break from the days when progress was measured by the partisan points scored or the opponents defeated. No longer can we afford merely to tinker at the margins of the status quo or play the politics of pitting one group against another...
...What is needed now more than ever is a politics that binds us together, a politics that looks to the future, a politics that asks not what is in it for me, but always what is in it for us?
Many believe that Spitzer will fight for a same-sex marriage bill amongst his new initiatives. The inauguration will feature food from all over the state. NYC foods included will be knishes from Yonah Schimmel Knish Bakery, cheesecake from Junior's, and pickles from Guss's.
And former Governor Pataki last day including being in the broadcast booth at the NY Jets game and getting 24/7 State Police protection - four $80,000/year troopers - for at least a few month. He also made some last-minute appointments.
Photograph of Governor Spitzer on a run this morning by Tim Roske/AP
