Calling All Advocates
12th March 2008 by Elizabeth Rizzo
Eliot Spitzer’s political career is likely over, but considering his personality (many have called it arrogance), he will certainly not fade into the sunset like so many other politicians brought down by personal misconduct scandal (a few examples: Gary Condit relocated to Arizona to open Baskin-Robbins stores and Mark Foley is selling real estate in Florida). It will be fascinating to see how Spitzer repairs his reputation. Unlike Bill Clinton, Spitzer seems to lack ADVOCATES. You can’t help but notice that no one has come forward publicly to support him or vouch for his record, a la “he’s a great guy who made some mistakes.” His base of badvocates may only grow as he prolongs his inevitable resignation.
While Spitzer may not have as many advocates as Bill Clinton did during the Monica scandal, he does have his fair share:
Harvard Law professor Alan Dershowitz argued that the scandal is “overblown” and that Sptizer “who was elected overwhelmingly, should serve, should fight this, and let the public judge him after his four years in office.”
James Carville suggested that Spitzer’s enemies may have set him up, and argued that he need not resign on CNN.
Democrats.com has started a “Save Spitzer” campaign: www.democrats.com/spitzer.
Unfortunately for Spitzer, his badvocates far outnumber his advocates and are dominating the media pipeline. I suppose it’s trickier to publically support someone involved in a prostitution ring, than someone who engages in consensual adultery.