Eliot Spitzer

Former New York Governor George Pataki: Ignored, Forgotten, But Most Sensible, Centrist Republican In Presidential Race

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It used to be that New York Governors, whether Democrats or Republicans, were well respected and regarded in national politics.

Just in the last century, we had Charles Evans Hughes, Alfred E. Smith, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Thomas E. Dewey all Presidential nominees; and Nelson Rockefeller and Mario Cuomo seen as possible Presidential choices.

Such was not the case with George Pataki, Governor from 1995-2007, who did the magical feat of defeating Mario Cuomo, who no one thought could be defeated for a fourth term in 1994; and who was then overshadowed by two New York City Mayors, Rudy Guilani and Michael Bloomberg, who were more exciting personalities.

But Pataki, after being forgotten for nearly a decade, and after a Governorship that looks a whole lot better after the disasters of his successors in the Governorship–Eliot Spitzer and David Paterson—is now back in politics as number 16 out of 16 Republican Presidential contenders, with ZERO chance of being the nominee, and in the bottom of the polls, often not scoring even one percent.

Having said that, Pataki is truly a “profile in courage”, in that he is challenging Donald Trump’s hate filled comments about Mexican immigration, in a way no one else is doing so, and has challenged Trump to a debate on that topic.

Of course, Pataki wants to be seen as significant, and it is clear Trump will not answer the challenge.

But Pataki represents the now dormant “Rockefeller” wing of the Republican Party, the moderate centrist Republican, who actually believes in immigration reform, abortion rights, acceptance of gay marriage, belief in environmental protection. and sensible gun control.

With a candidate such as Pataki, the GOP would have a revival back to its glorious past, instead of teetering on the brink of disaster, and its demise in the near future!

The Decline Of The New York State Government And Governorship!

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New York State, the “Empire State”, is a victim of government decline in so many ways.

This was the state that gave us Presidential candidates in Alfred E. Smith, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Thomas E. Dewey, and potential Presidential candidates in Averell Harriman, Nelson Rockefeller, Mario Cuomo, and George Pataki.

But now, we have had Eliot Spitzer, forced out of office by a sex scandal, and Andrew Cuomo, subject of an ethics investigation, who has displayed arrogance and entitlement about his control of who can investigate him, which has now blown up in his face.

Ironically, Cuomo seems an easy winner for his second term, but could be forced out of office during the next term, reminiscent of the circumstances of President Richard Nixon, who won easy reelection while under investigation, and then was forced to resign in disgrace.

This will end any hope that Cuomo could ever run for the Presidency, if for instance, Hillary Clinton chose not to run.

Having said that as reality, this author wishes to state that he has always had an uneasy feeling about Cuomo, over many years. It is something hard to pinpoint, but this blogger always liked Mario Cuomo, Andrew’s dad, but never felt comfortable with his son, even though he resembles him a lot in speaking manner and appearance!

New York City Politics And Sex Scandals: The Redemption Of Anthony Weiner And Eliot Spitzer?

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Who would imagine that two New York politicians, both tragic figures involved in sex scandals, could suddenly emerge as likely choices to be the next Mayor of New York City, and the next City Comptroller?

That scenario is seen as very likely for former Congressman Anthony Weiner and former Governor Eliot Spitzer, spicing up the races for who will run the largest city, and who will be a watchdog over the city’s finances.

Weiner lost his Congressional career over his inappropriate utterances and photos on Twitter and with women, and Spitzer was involved in a high cost prostitution scandal, and yet both have now asked for forgiveness, and seem likely to have the voters give them another chance for public service.

No one can deny that their careers were dedicated to good deeds in public life, but their weakness in the area of sexual interests brought them down to humiliation and destruction.

The irony is that if both win the offices they seek, their egos and personalities will likely clash a great deal of the time, leading to lots of political “theater”, but also meaning New York City politics will be one of the most interesting political stories in America as we move into the future.

But would New York City and its residents want anything else other than center stage?

Redemption is part of the story of humankind, and Bill Clinton, David Vitter, and Mark Sanford have already proved that there is a life after scandal, in a nation in which ethics has suffered a massive decline! So the most interesting story of this off year election will not be the Governorship of New Jersey nor the Governorship of Virginia, but the New York City municipal races!

Interesting Survey On NYC Mayoralty Race For 2013

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In a poll of NYC voters on who should run for Mayor in 2013, at a time when Mayor Michael Bloomberg will retire after 12 years,, very unusual results were reported.

While City Council President Christine Quinn (who is lesbian) has 23 percent in the polls; former City Controller Bill Thompson (who is African American) has 15 percent; and present City Controller John Liu (who is Asian American) has 9 percent; what is more interesting is that a third of those in the poll want former NY Governor Eliot Spitzer to run, and that a quarter of those in the poll want former Congressman Anthony Weiner; and only 18 percent want actor Alec Baldwin to enter the race.

What does this say about NYC voters? Do they really want a disgraced former Governor and a disgraced former Congressman to be their Mayor–even more than a well known actor and comedian? Isn’t the idea of the first woman Mayor who is gay; a black Mayor to follow up on David Dinkins; and an Asian American Mayor enough exciting?

No one is denying that Spitzer and Weiner may want vindication that they can come back from sex scandals, but somehow the alternatives, including Alec Baldwin, and the three city officials, seem like a more amenable set of choices!

Should Disgraced Politicians “Come Back”?The Cases Of Anthony Weiner And Eliot Spitzer And The New York Mayoralty In 2013

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The political world is abuzz with rumors that former New York Congressman Anthony Weiner is thinking of running for Mayor of New York City in 2013, to succeed Mayor Michael Bloomberg!

There has also been discussion of the possibility of former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer running for Mayor as well.

Both New York politicians resigned after sex scandals, which would ordinarily destroy their future careers, but at least Spitzer has been a host of news shows on CNN and now the CURRENT channel, and has come across very well as a political commentator.

One could argue that after such scandals and disgrace, that these and others, including former Senator John Edwards of North Carolina, the 2004 Democratic Vice Presidential nominee, should just go into the woodwork and never re-emerge again!

And yet, Louisiana Republican Senator David Vitter survived a sex scandal, never resigned, and was reelected to the Senate!

So the best answer is that anyone has a right to run for public office, and the scandals will reflect on their character, but ultimately, IF the American people want a former disgraced politician to run and win, that is their right, and none of us should condemn such action by the candidates, or by the people who choose to support them!

Keith Olberman Vs. Al Gore And Current TV: Not Good For The Progressive Movement!

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Former Vice President Al Gore has been actively involved in the promotion of a new public affairs cable channel, Current TV, in the past year and a half, and it looked as if he might have scored a victory with the coming of former MSNBC talk show host Keith Olbermann a year ago.

Olbermann was supposed to be the beginning of a channel to compete with MSNBC, CNN and Fox News Channel, and signs seemed to show that it was working until recently.

The addition of Cenk Uygur and former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm a few months ago, and then the addition a week ago of Bill Press and Stephanie Miller, boded well for the new network.

But underlying the surface was a bitter dispute between Olbermann and the management of the Gore cable channel, with Olbermann, always a difficult and prickly personality, becoming what was clearly a prima donna, who had a horrible and explosive personality that led to his firing from ESPN and MSNBC, and now has led to his firing from Current TV, because of his refusal to cooperate on conditions and work rules, including refusal to share anchor duties on the night of the Iowa caucuses, constant absences on a level much more than would be considered normal, and complaints about petty things that any employee would ordinarily accept as part of being an employee for any company.

Olbermann is now threatening to sue, and the situation does not make him look better one iota! For a man who reportedly was on a contract worth $50 million, and a lot of input to the development of the channel, one has to wonder why he has so much trouble getting along with management now at THREE channels!

The man is not a positive force for journalism anymore, and his ego and obnoxious personality makes him the news, instead of his ability to be perceptive about the personalities and issues of the news.

This is a major factor in the decline of journalism as a profession. The selfish, self centered Olbermann has worn out his welcome in cable journalism, and it is hard to imagine any other channel hiring him in the future.

But don’t feel sad for Olbermann! His total earnings over the years are something only the top one percent that he constantly attacks, but is a member of, would possess, and he can just write, rather than speak, and will NEVER have a problem paying his bills like most of us in America!

What Olbermann has done is NOT good for the progressive movement, but Al Gore looks ever the better, since he tolerated the temperamental nature of Olbermann, until he finally had to put his foot down and decide to fire him.

The sooner any lawsuit is resolved, the better for those who observe, and feeling sadness of what the dispute does to those of us who advocate progressive values, but have to be embarrassed at the spectacle that has developed!

Meanwhile, former NY Governor Eliot Spitzer, who was dropped by CNN, even though this author thought he had done an excellent job, has now replaced Olbermann, and despite criticism of Spitzer’s sex scandal a few years ago, which led to his resignation from the governorship, he has redeemed himself in the author’s mind, and will be a positive force for Current TV, which hopefully will continue to develop and overcome this disgraceful dispute between them and Keith Olbermann!

Changes Coming In Cable And Television News!

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As we enter the second half of 2011, and the Presidential race becomes ever more center stage, Fox News Channel is making every effort to legitimize itself as “mainstream”, just as Jon Stewart went after Fox News Channel on Fox News Sunday with Chris Wallace last week, as not being accurate or responsible in its coverage of politics and news!

Having “rescued” liberal commentator Juan Williams, after he was summarily fired by National Public Radio, with a reported $2 million a year five year contract, Fox News then went to hire CNN morning anchor John Roberts to be a national correspondent, and former Democratic Senator Evan Bayh to be a political commentator.

Now they have hired CNN White House correspondent Ed Henry to be their White House correspondent, and of course, for the past few years, they have had former CNN morning anchor Bill Hemmer on their station.

Will it work, to make Fox News Channel seem “mainstream”? With the leaving of Glenn Beck from his every weekday show through joint agreement, it might have some effect, although Bill O’Reilly, Sean Hannity, John Stossel, Greta Van Susteren, Brit Hume, Bill Kristol, Liz Cheney, et al, make one wonder if that is possible!

Meanwhile, Keith Olbermann, who had a “divorce” from MSNBC, has now revived his “Countdown” show, following a similar format, on former Vice President Al Gore’s independent station, Current TV. For those who enjoyed his incisive coverage of politics, it is a welcome return, but the question is whether he can “steal’ the audience of MSNBC and Lawrence O’Donnell at the same hour, along with Eliot Spitzer on CNN. As it turns out, Current TV replays Olbermann’s show EIGHT times over the 24 hour cycle, so in theory, one can watch Spitzer, see O’Donnell in rerun at 11 pm, and then watch Olbermann at any three hour cycle up through dinner time the next day!

Additionally, Norah O’Donnell of MSNBC and NBC, who had been a chief Washington correspondent, is now moving to CBS as their White House correspondent. Always pleasant and appealing in her manner of reporting and commenting, CBS has staged a major coup by gaining her employment!

So cable news and TV news in general has become ever more personality driven, and adds interest to the coverage of major political events!

Eliot Spitzer And Kathleen Parker Team Up For New CNN Show In Fall!

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Former NY Governor Eliot Spitzer, who was forced out of office after 14 months due to a sex scandal, is now about to take on an hourly news program on CNN, cohosting it at 8 pm weekdays with Kathleen Parker, a 2010 winner of the Pulitzer Prize in Journalism for the Washington Post, who defines herself as a “rational conservative”!

Spitzer had a dry run as a substitute talk show host for MSNBC, and proved to be very stimulating, and effective in arguing ideas and points with conservative guests! Parker is very articulate when she has appeared on cable shows, and it sounds like a great debate and point-counterpoint will develop between Spitzer and Parker, as well as their guests!

This could be another “Crossfire” type show, and it sounds as if CNN is attempting to challenge their tough opposition at 8 pm–Bill O’Reilly on Fox News Channel and Keith Olbermann on MSNBC! All for the better! 🙂

Andrew Cuomo Announces For NY Governorship: Harbinger Of The Future?

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New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, the older son of three term Governor Mario Cuomo (1983-1995), announced his candidacy this morning for Governor at a time of great trouble and turmoil for the Empire State!

Cuomo has no opposition for his party’s nomination, but faces, if he wins, a daunting challenge financially, as the New York budgetary situation is one of the worst in the nation, and the state legislature is in stalemated condition, particularly in the State Senate, which has been an embarrassment to the state’s image.

But so has been the disaster represented by Eliot Spitzer, elected Governor from the position of Attorney General in 2006 by a landslide, and throwing it all away in a sex scandal within 15 months. Then, the Lieutenant Governor, David Paterson, succeeded and became embroiled in scandal and controversy of his own, and was forced out of consideration to run for a full term.

Meanwhile, Cuomo, formerly Secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the second term of President Bill Clinton, made a distinguished record for himself as Attorney General, aggressively pursuing scandals on Wall Street and otherwise during this four year term. And he has indicated great plans to reorganize the state government bureaucracy in a way not seen since the Governorship of Alfred E. Smith in 1919!

Cuomo will face one of three opponents on the Republican line–former Suffolk Congressman Rick Lazio (who ran against Hillary Clinton for the Senate in 2000); Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy (who just switched parties to announce his candidacy); and Carl Paladino (a Buffalo property developer who advocates very conservative ideas after also switching parties a few years ago but has no political experience).

Cuomo is the heavy favorite to become the next Governor of New York, and IF he does a good job in a difficult time, and is reelected in 2014, he will likely be a possible candidate for the Democratic Presidential nomination in 2016, although, of course, he would not now entertain such ideas! 🙂

So the 2010 New York Governorship race could be a harbinger of the future!

Former Politicians As Talk Show Hosts: A Growing Trend

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A developing trend on cable news seems to be that former politicians are substituting for talk show hosts, and one wonders if this is a move to employ these political figures as future hosts of regularly scheduled shows.

Fox News Channel, of course, already employs former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee and former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin on its network on regular shows.

But now, MSNBC has had former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer substitute for Dylan Ratigan, and CNN has had former Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura replace Larry King for one evening.

It must be said that all of these former governors have a certain manner about them that makes them effective as talk show hosts, and it could be that politicians who have left office voluntarily, been forced out of office, or been defeated for office may very well be the media stars of the future!