Henry J. Stern
July 27, 2007


Day One: Everything changes.
Day 207: Everything has changed.

The governor didn’t take the advice we offered two days ago.  In a piece published in Tuesday’s Sun, we concluded by calling on Mr. Spitzer to “repent, before it is too late.” Instead, he went to the editorial board of the Daily News with a limited denial that seemed calculated to avoid the perjury trap.

The problem is, not one person in a hundred believes that he is telling the truth. He lied before, over his father’s loans to his campaign for the Democratic nomination for attorney general in 1998, and he admitted that  to the News. That upset Michael Goodwin, who wrote a devastating column in Wednesday's News about the governor's integrity . He was incensed by Mr. Spitzer’s excuse for his lie: “I had to.” To me, that is a much better excuse than “I did it because I could.” Who else would lend Eliot $10 million for a political campaign besides his multi-millionaire father?

His recent departure from truth, denying involvement in the plot to trail Senator Joseph Bruno, is simply not credible. The modified, limited hangout which he gave to the News Tuesday would not deceive a cub reporter, much less an editorial board. Once again we have a situation where a politician digs himself into a deeper hole each time he speaks.

The irony here is that what he is accused of, even if he did it, is not criminal.  The former governor, George Pataki, revoked Mr. Bruno's permission to use the state plane after they had a dispute over the State Racing and Wagering Board, which Mr. Bruno viewed as his private property. Mr. Pataki thought it was part of state government, which he viewed similarly.
   
When Mr. Spitzer became governor in January, Mr. Bruno asked him for permission to use the plane.  The governor said Yes, and Mr. Bruno quickly became a frequent flier. When his quarrel with Mr. Spitzer over member items in the budget descended into personal abuse, the governor could simply have done what Mr. Pataki did. grounded Mr. Bruno.  Instead, he tried to show that Mr. Bruno used the plane for political purposes. Of course the charge was true.
 
If  Bruno's principal purpose in using the plane were state business, the petitioners could have come to Albany to see him. The invention known as teleconferencing also limits the need for face to face meetings, unless money is being passed from one person to another. Even in 2007, there are a few matters which require direct personal contact.
 
The Senate Leader was clever enough to attach some flimsy state purpose to his helicoptering, using a figleaf of justification to give himself plausible deniabiity, so that according to the state’s lame and pathetic rules on the subject, he was in the clear.   But he had no authority to command the use of the plane in the first place if the governor had forbidden him to use it.  Spitzer could have grounded him just as Pataki did.  Instead, the governor and his minions embarked on a foolish plot to discredit Bruno by using the State Police, who are not supposed to be used for politics, to keep tabs on him.  But Bruno had used state resources — police, pilots, and the plane — for his own political purposes.  In fact, Bruno used the same state resources that Mr. Spitzer used in tracking him down.  This is a joust between the pot and the kettle.

The way the game will probably play out is that Bruno will try to nail Spitzer by using the courts and investigators to expose the governor and his aides, Messrs. Baum and Dopp. The press has joined the pursuit, recalling every sleazy tactic that  Mr. Spitzer used while he was attorney general.  He has no shortage of enemies, both past and present.

The governor will argue that these are internal executive matters, over which the Senate has no jurisdiction. The State Ethics commission has requested the attorney general's records, and may conduct its own inquiry.  The district attorney of Albany County, David Soares, is a wild card. He seems to have no problem bringing felony indictments against state-wide elected officials for relatively minor missteps.
 
An observer can say that all the parties are getting what they deserve. One group, however, that is not being served is the people of the State of New York, who deserve a government that confronts issues, resolves the acute economic problems upstate, spends funds equitably, avoids incurring further debt, doesn't wallow in its own pork (mixed metaphor)  and in general behaves responsibly. 
 
Yet no passion is greater than the desire for revenge, particularly if it involves the humiliation of one’s enemies. So the struggle is likely to continue until the combatants exhaust themselves and the investigatory agencies have milked the case dry.
There is the danger of perjury indictments.  And do not forget the tale of William J. Sulzer, another reform governor.

 It is unfortunate that the high hopes of “Day One” turned into a squalid squabble by Day 207. For responsible people, resuming real work cannot happen too soon.  But knowing human nature, we believe the spectacle will continue until the last shred of the governor's reputation has been tattered, or until he seizes the initiative by telling the truth.

#397  7.27.07  885wds