NEW YORK (WPIX)—
Former Governor Eliot Spitzer is not returning to the political arena, at least not this year. In an exclusive interview with me for this week's PIX NEWS CLOSEUP program, he was emphatic when he said, "I don't have any thoughts about running for political office right now. It is not what I am doing."His increased visibility in the media recently has fueled speculation that he is preparing to jump back into politics some two years after resigning in disgrace over a sex scandal in which he patronized a high-priced prostitution ring. "People have been encouraging me to run for office. I am flattered,and I'm thankful. It feels nice, but it's not happening," he insisted. As for reports that he was considering a run for state comptroller, Spitzer declared, "I'm not running for comptroller."
He said he loves teaching and speaking out on issues, but that should not be interpreted to mean he's using that as a springboard to a political job. When I made note of his recent high profile and stated "when it walks like a duck and it quacks like a duck," he interrupted, "but every duck doesn't run for office, you know."
As for his infidelity as "Client #9" in that prostitution ring, I asked Spitzer why he did it. "There is simply no good answer," he confessed, adding, "you err, you sin, you fail and have lack of judgment. I had a flaw and failed. There is no way to explain or rationalize or justify."
Regarding his relationship with his wife and three daughters, he said everything was good at home, and praised his wife, Silda, "It is a marriage that is strong, that is wonderful and I am blessed to have such a stupendous wife."
We talked briefly about the culture that ensnares men of power into illicit relationships. Spitzer explained, "There is a sense that this could happen to anyone politicians, corporate executives, anyone in a position perceived or of actual authority, where you lose a sense of the boundaries and lose the recognition that you as well as everybody else has to live by the rules. That's the critically important part of maintaining one's grounding, and I think it's easy to stray." "And you did," I declared, to which he responded, "of course I did and I resigned."
Given the circumstances, I asked if he winces when he hears of Tiger Wood's sexcapades and sees him on television. "I wince at any of these issues. Obviously you don't like to see anybody go through that tragedy, that difficulty, any relationship suffer that way. It is a storyline that is unfortunately repeated with unfortunate frequency.
Spitzer refused to be drawn into discussion about the man who succeeded him, David Paterson. "If you knew then what you know now that he would emerge as a weak, ineffectual governor, would you have selected him as your running mate,?" I asked. After refuting my characterization of Paterson as weak and ineffectual, Spitzer said he would neither defend nor praise him, and noted that when he chose him, the decision was greeted with universal applause. He conceded, "David has struggled to do what is right. He has made some missteps," and concluded, "I don't believe in hindering somebody who is still in office."
We talked about the crisis with the budget in Albany, and the financial mess on Wall Street, and probed how things might be different if Eliot Spitzer was still running things in Albany.
I ended the interview by asking the man who served as New York's 54th governor how he would like to be remembered. He replied, "I'm not ready to write my obituary. Here's what I hope people will remember: I fought my heart out for them. I fought every battle trying to preserve the public interest. That is what I care about."
Eliot Spitzer made it clear he still has the fight in him. "That's part of the DNA of being a New Yorker," he declared.
You can see my entire interview with Eliot Spitzer Sunday Morning at 6 on PIX News Closeup and afterward at wpix.com/newscloseup.
