Governor Eliot Spitzer has reached the 100-day mark of his term as New York's highest official - now, just about 1360 more to go! His biggest battle thus far has been getting a budget passed (the final budget was a couple billion more than what he proposed and many deals were made secretly, but it was only a few hours late) while one of the most vocal fights has been the televised war of the words between the hospitals union and Spitzer over the hospital closings. Naturally, Spitzer is pretty pleased with himself, as he tells the Post:
My reflection on the first three months and as we move into the first 100 days is that we've accomplished virtually the entire agenda we set out to accomplish in this time frame. We've made significant steps forward on a range of issues that were tough and will bare fruit. There's much work to be done in the context of both government reform, energy...and interests not addressed in the budget such as a judicial [pay raise] agenda."
The Steamroller also spoke to the Daily News: "I think things have gone stupendously. "There is a renewed vigor in Albany ... But if we solved every problem in 100 days, there would be nothing left for us to do over the next three years and nine months." Oh, come on, there would be LOTS to do.
The News gives Spitzer an actual report card (B+ for Budget, A- for Education, B+ for Health, C+ for Government Reform, and B for Criminal Justice) and speaks with Syracuse University professor Jeff Stonecash who says, "Saying everything would change Day One was an audacious statement that created high expectations. But it seems he did reasonably well negotiating a budget which nudges things in the direction he wants."
As for his recent 13-point drop in approval ratings, Spitzer says that's because of the television commercials from the health care workers union making him look bad, like the ad where an elderly woman asks Governor Spitzer why he took away her healthcare options after voting for him..
Photograph of Spitzer and students at Campus West School in Buffalo playing with sand, not steamrollers, by David Duprey/AP
