Eliot Spitzer

There is talk of Spitzer running for Governor of New York.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=536&e=8&u=/ap/20031125/ap_on_el_gu/spitzer_governor

"Maurice Carroll, head of the Hamden, Conn.-based polling institute, said Spitzer's appeal to conservative voters is explained by two words: "Stock market."

With ordinary investors ruined and the markets reeling from scandals involving Enron, Tyco and other companies, Spitzer investigated Wall Street brokerages, accusing them of touting certain stocks in order to win the companies' lucrative investment banking business. Spitzer emerged as the populist prosecutor able to extract multimillion-dollar penalties from the brokerages."

Populist? Appeals to conservatives?


How about having him be the Vice Presidential nominee?

[rucky]

1. This leads me to believe that Edwards is guaranteed a USAG position

he's probably already sealed the deals with multiple candidates.

Spitzer seems like the logical choice, but he'd only run for governor if he were out of the running for that position.

Also, it explains why Edwards isn't worried about vacating his seat. I do believe he's playing to win, but he's smart enough to cover his bets, as well.

[blm]

3. I agree

Edwards will at the LEAST be AG.

[AP]

5. Huh? This post is missing a couple things...

...logic and textual references.

Spitzer is behaving like a guy who wants to be NY Gov and not US VP. Spitzer acts like he wants to be the Democratic Robert Moses.

[rucky]

12. Do you have Spitzer on speed dial?

I give an intuitive speculation. You criticze my logic, then offer up your own intuitive speculation.

Looks like Spitzer is not making himself available for AG. We can only speculate as to whether he even wanted the position or not - that's why I left that part out.

That leaves us with Edwards and a couple others for the short list. We'll never know if spitzer got out-jockeyed or just had other plans.

In fact, we don't know anything. This whole thread is speculative - as are most threads here.

[AP]

13. In fact...

...I don't.

But I've been paying close attention to Spitzer, and to me it has looked like he has always been running for Governor. He is NY State through and through. I've never seen anything that suggests that he wants a national profile, however, he is integrating himself quite nicely into the NY machine (and he must now that NY'er is not the right demographic for a national career).

As for Edwards, my opinion is that the Dems probably won't win unless he's somewhere on the ticket, so I find it hard to believe that he's angling for AG. I doubt a guy as sensible as him would plan on being AG. Anyway, there was a quote flying around a couple months ago. Apparently he told a friend that, in January 2005, he'll either be President of the US, Senior Senator from NC, or in private practice back in Raleigh, committed to helping the kind of people he has always helped, and he'd be the happiest man alive in all three of those circumstances. Nothing in there about being AG.

And it's insane to think that he's talked to his COMPETITORS about being their AGs. That would make a pretty good campaign commericial: "John Edwards doesn't want to be President. He wants to be AG. He wants to be my AG."

Although, most threads here are speculative, they occassionally make a few references to facts and quotes to support their arguments.

[blm]

2. I heard he was on Kerry's shortlist back in the summer.

I love Spitzer, but, I think he wants to be Gov. of New York.

But, damn, I'd love to see him debate ol' Halliburton Cheney. I think Cheney's ticker would fail him.

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

4. I want Spitzer as my governor

Oh boy, do I - what a hero. This mutual fund scandal is going to get a lot worse before it gets better, count on it.

[SahaleArm]

8. I want him as US AG.

I win :P

[incapsulated]

10. Even better

You win. :)

[AP]

9. Spitzer is great. However I have one major disagreement with him.

He said that he deliberated long and hard about pressing criminal charges against some of the Wall St criminals. He said it would serve no purpose, so he decided not to do it. He said it's not his intention to put a bick brockerage out of business with criminal charges.

I think this is like the corroloary to the death penalty. If you want southern conservatives to vote for you don't take a stand against the death penalty. Well, in NY, if you don't want the establishment to sabotage your gubernatorial ambitions, you don't throw even a single one of their cronies into the clink and you don't close down their criminal enterprises.

If Spitzer pursued ONE criminal charge -- if he put just one of these brokerages out of business -- he would do more towards stopping this criminal behaviour than if he got a civil fine for EVERY Wall Streeter guilty of a civil offense. That would send a REAL message.

[mndemocrat_29]

6. Spitzer needs to be elected governor first

But he'll be on the shortlist for 2012.

[incapsulated]

7. He'd have my vote!

:thumbsup:

[RandomUser]

11. I'm still pissed at Spitzer over Microsoft

That's my one holdup with him. He pulled out of the lawsuit and settled, despite the fact that California and some of the other states had the backbone to continue eventhough Ashcroft pulled out.

But other than that, he's seems ok. He's done quite a bit against corporate scandals. But in the back of my mind, there's always that doubt that if it's not popular (like corporate scandals post-Enron), he will not show backbone and fight the good fight (like when he decided not to continue with the lawsuit with Microsoft).

[Jacobin]

14. Hope he's Deans Attorney General

:-)