"With Spitzer, it seems like he’s walked into buzz saws of his own devising." - Richard Norton Smith, biographer of former Gov. Thomas E. Dewey, to the NY Times
Today, Governor Spitzer dropped in on the State Assembly Democrats' annual meeting, which has been characterized as being "almost like a pre-game show to the session," held at the Marriott in downtown Brooklyn. According to video from Elizabeth Benjamin at the Daily Politics, an almost warm-and- fuzzy-sounding Spitzer said of his fellow state Democrats, "It’s like a family. We have a common world view, deep affection for one another, sometimes we squabble.” Hmm, that actually doesn't sound like a lie, given Spitzer's past fighting with the Assembly Democrats - and the fact that his father used to make the Spitzer children bring "discussion" topics to the dinner table for debate.
The possibly reformed Steamroller gets the page one treatment from the NY Times today, with various parties weighing in on his first year so far. Michael Cunningham, who worked for Mayor Bloomberg and Governors Cuomo and Carey, suggests that Spitzer's previous state role have hurt him: "Attorney generals generally don’t get dislodged. You become almost untouchable. It skews the way you view things.”
Spitzer himself even admitted to the Times, "I’m not naturally suited to this job, perhaps. But maybe, at this point in time, we need someone who is not naturally suited to it to get done the transformative things that the public wants done.” Or the public needs someone who can change his mind on issues - previously, he said no to legislator raises, now he wants to say yes.
The Governor will be the keynote speaker at tonight's gala for K.I.D.S. and Fashion Delivers, non-profits that helps distribute goods from the different industries to relief agencies, at the Pierre.
