Wednesday, November 19, 2008 - Posts
-
sponsorship
So as I'm reading how Bill Clinton is making himself all kinds of amenable so that Hillary can say yes to running the State Department, it at long last occurs to me that Obama's job offer to her might not be the total madness I took it for: See here in the New York Times, where it quotes former Clinton White House counsel and Obama supporter Abner Mikva? The way Mikva puts it is that for this thing to go forward, "There would have to be FULL [caps mine] disclosure as to who ALL [me again] were contributors to his library and foundation." Which is not quite the same as the former president's reported willingness to "release the names of some major donors,'' is it? So maybe Obama has reason to believe that in the end, Hubby Bubba can't open all the books for all the world to see? And if that's the case, then instead of being a chump he's making the world's most magnanimous gesture at absolutely no cost to himself or the country.
-
sponsorship
With a very serious op-ed on financial regulation in last Sunday's Washington Post, Eliot Spitzer clearly sees the economic crisis as an opportunity to rehabilitate his reputation, trotting out some pretty powerful "I told you sos" from his New York state attorney general days. Spitzer says he rang the warning bell about subprime mortgages and accounting irregularities at AIG but was rebuffed by the Bush administration. Only in the last paragraph does he deal with the elephant—cough, prostitution-ring scandal—in the room:
Although mistakes I made in my private life now prevent me from participating in these issues as I have in the past, I very much hope and expect that President Obama and his new administration will have the strength and wisdom to do again what FDR did.
A few bloggers were so impressed by Spitzer's essay that they called on the Obama administration to offer him a job. "Do we have to exclude Spitzer from addressing the issues on which he has considerable expertise? Issues that have nothing to do with an unrelated sex scandal?" mused Steve Benen at the Washington Monthly. "Is there a better pick in mind for the next chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission?"
Anonymous Liberal agreed, writing: "The argument is simple. When you're really sick, you hire the best doctor you can. You don't care about his/her personal life." Politico's Ben Smith floated Spitzer's name as a replacement for Hillary Clinton in the Senate should she become secretary of state.
If you're raising your eyebrows, you're not the only one. The way I see it, the No Drama Obama team has enough trouble on their hands incorporating the Clintons into the fold. Do we really expect Obama to embrace a man who broke multiple laws by contracting a prostitute across state lines? And there's no indication that Ashley Dupre, the call girl in question, is planning on helpfully fading into the night. On Friday she will appear with Diane Sawyer on 20/20, and she has granted an interview to People magazine. Her words to Silda Wall Spitzer? "I'm sorry for your pain."
Even if you're willing to forgive Eliot Spitzer's slimeball behavior, there's the inconvenient truth that despite his Wall Street expertise and reputation as a corporate ball buster, Spitzer's governorship was rife with scandal and intrigue from day one. He used the state police to spy on his political opponents. He was so obnoxious to the state Legislature that even his allies feared his liberal policy agenda would erupt in flames. A good fit for Obama? No way. Eliot Spitzer: Not the change we need.
Join the Fray: our reader discussion forum
What did you think of this article?