The NY Times and NY Post are usually at the opposite ends of the political spectrum, but there's one thing they can find common ground on: How former governor Eliot Spitzer is a whoremonger and no one should vote for him as NYC Comptroller. So both papers have endorsed Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer for the Democratic Comptroller primary—plus the Post has a cruelly comical Photoshop front page.
The NY Times says:
The ideal candidate is politically astute and ethically impeccable, and works well with others.
Mr. Stringer has shown all those qualities as a public servant. As a state assemblyman, he was committed to the principles of good government. In his nearly eight years as borough president he has improved the scope, effectiveness and reputation of that sometimes marginal office. He has been a strong voice for civil rights and marriage equality, a defender of immigrants and the poor.
Mr. Stringer’s opponent, Eliot Spitzer, has intellect and cunning, but he lacks the qualities critical for this job. Mr. Spitzer entered the race at the last minute, seemingly for no reason except to thrust himself back into the limelight and to offer his services again as sheriff of Wall Street. But that is a problem: it’s the same character, in a different play, on the wrong stage.
Still, he could win the race handily, given his own fortune, which has allowed him to spend on ads and capitalize on his name recognition. People remember him as an aggressive, effective state attorney general, and he promises to reprise that role in a smaller arena. That logic falters when you factor in his term as governor, a dismal performance that ended abruptly when he resigned in a prostitution scandal.
Mr. Stringer has been effective in every political job he’s had, and we have every reason to expect that to continue if he is elected comptroller, as he should be.
In a few short weeks, New Yorkers will choose between two candidates for city comptroller in the Democratic primary. One is Scott Stringer, a conventional Manhattan liberal. The other is a completely unhinged Manhattan liberal.
His name is Eliot Spitzer, and for a man who styles himself the “Sheriff of Wall Street,” his real expertise is operating outside the law. As attorney general, he acted like some hick-town bully with a badge and a speed trap. But where it counted — in the courtroom — this sheriff seldom got his man.
Then again, Spitzer’s goals in office have always been less about serving the people’s interest and more about feeding his insatiable ego, his giant ambitions and his basest appetites. This fundamental character flaw, and the dysfunction it bred, brought down his governorship. And these failures, notably his meltdown in office, started long before the public learned of Ashley Dupre or the Emperors Club escort agency.
There are over 500 more words talking about how horrible Spitzer is, leading up to, "Ordinarily, the New York Post would not be thumping for a candidate whose other endorsements range from the teachers union and the Working Families Party to Gloria Steinem... But Stringer is a sober, honest man who understands how the city works and how important the job of comptroller is...The Post endorses Scott Stringer because in a race between an Upper West Side liberal and a hotheaded, hooker-chasing, office-abusing, self-promoting, lawbreaking, ego-obsessed 'steamroller' who still has trouble admitting he ever did anything wrong, it should be no contest."
Spitzer and Stringer mixed it up in last week's Official Campaign Finance Board debate—and also admitted to never having eaten a Cronut (Stringer remedied that two days later). The primary is on September 10.
