Henry J. Stern
Monday, September 10, 2007


Day One -   Everything changes
 
Day 253  -  Yes, it changed, but not for the better.
 
Today is September 10.  Day One was just thirty-six weeks ago.  The governor's inaugural speech on that chilly day in Albany was uplifting.   We wrote about it in very positive terms.  At that time, we believed that a new era lay ahead, and  that a discredited and dysfunctional state government was about to be reformed.  Unfortunately, we were mistaken.
 
The key to effecting change is strong leadership.  Governors like Alfred E. Smith, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Thomas E. Dewey and Nelson A. Rockefeller have had a significant impact on the state, in public works like the Thruway and the State University, in fighting racial and religious discrimination, and in improving working conditions and standards in the early 20th century.  They were men who, whether you agreed with them or not on a particular issue, were widely respected as leaders, people of stature.  What they said and did, mattered. And they influenced, or commanded, legislators
 
Through a succession of miscues, Governor Spitzer has forfeited his position of  leadership,  He has made intemperate statements, used foul language at inappropriate occasions, acted and spoken autocratically, denounced colleagues personally, caved where he should have stood firm, engaged recently in Nixonian behavior, and pretended not to know what most rational people think he must have known, for if he did not he was more foolish than they believe him to be.  Compare his public persona with that of a Bloomberg, a Giuliani, or a Koch and observe the difference.

 This dossier of deficiencies, which may be exaggerated for rhetorical purposes, does not take into account the good and sensible things he has done in the last eight months, but  when one is elected to a high office, people expect high quality, not only in integrity and intelligence, but in human relationships. The governor is the chief executive of a state with over 18,000,000 people, a few thousand of whom, at least, are as smart as he is, and have earned their fortunes on their own.

Many of us who supported him enthusiastically less than a year ago are disappointed.  There is not one public official in the state, Democrat or Republican, who defends the way he has conducted himself.   This is not an ideological issue, he is neither a radical or a reactionary, his ideology, his views are mainstream liberal . Senator Craig did him a great favor by taking people's minds off the governor's travails,and hopefully this will continue for a while..

Now the governor does photo-ops with Mayor Bloomberg and others, hoping their modest glow will rub off on him . It is sad to see him in this weakened condition, in part because he will be governor for another 3 years and 4 months; it being highly unlikely that he will be impeached or convicted of perjury.  It will be a long slog, however, for him to regain the respect of the people with whom he must work.  We would recommend a vigorous, substantive program of reform, a substantial reduction of state expenditures, and the appointment of persons of stature and courage to his staff and to the agencies.  Cast a wider net..
 
It is not contradictory to wish for the success of someone whose record so far is disappointing.  We want the Empire State to prosper and become competitive with others.  Maybe it's just rooting for the home team, but we want both the State and the City to do well.   The success of an administration depends on the work of people at the bottom and well as the top.  They must be motivated and encouraged to do their best.  They cannot feel that they are being led by a loser.
 
Governor Spitzer has to pick himself up and start doing worthwhile things.  His appointments, for the most part and except in the Bronx, of course, are relatively professional rather than totally political.  They have not, however, been distinguished, and most people would be unable to name any three people who he appointed to anything.  We also do not read about anyone else in the administration except the governor.  This may be due to the absence of Darren Dopp, the recently exiled press secretary, or to his presence.  We will see if anyone breaks through the fog and becomes an identifiable member of the administration in circumstances which are other than linkage to some wrongful act..
 
The newspapers are mixed today about the governor.  The Post continues its jeremiad with a huge headline on page one, STATE SECRETS,  Gov'sAides Meet at Night in Limos.  Exclusive  Gov. Spitzer's aides have been holding clandestine late-night meetings in "bib black cars" to avoid creating a trail of phone and e-mail records for investigators looking into Albany's dirty-tracks scandal. Fredruc U. Dicker fans the flames on p2 with SPITZER'S AIDES IN MYSTERY MEETINGS, but unless you know what went on in the meetings, it's not much of a story.   The News as much as says so in Elizabeth Benjamin's column on p19,  TROOPERGATE FIZZLING OUT, GOP Scrambles to Keep Scandal Hot as DA's Proble Unlikely to Find Crimes.

 The turning point in this drama may have been the vituperate late night phone call by Roger J. Stone, the Republican operative who called Mr. Spitzer's 83-year-old father to curse him and then threaten him with being called to testify about his son.  Although alcohol may have fueled the rage that led to the vicious and abusive call, and Stone was fired the next day by Joe Bruno, the damage was done in that the Senate hearings could be more easily viewed as a partisan attempt to embarrass the governor.   And although Bruno the fox had enjoyed a few weeks in the spotlight, playing the elderly victim of a ruthless man, Stonegate showed the Senate leader in a more familiar role, that of perpetrator,  although he was in fact guilty only of buying a vicious dog, not doing the biting himself.. But he knew the propensity, that's why he hired the pit bull.
 
Leadership in  government depends on persuading people to do what may not be directly in their own interest, but will be in the public interest.  According to statute, each party has the right to block the other party from action or legislation, and stalemate is the most common result, as in some chess tournaments.  Persuasion is more possible when there is a relationship between the parties that is not laced with personal contempt and threats of litigation.  It's too bad we can't start the year 2007 on Rosh Hashanah (Wednesday evening, September 12 ), but that day will be the start of 5768, since the Jews started counting earlier, although not necessarily as early as is suggested by that number.

DIGRESSION:  When I was a little boy, I read on a wall calendar that Archbishop Usher (primate of all Ireland from l625 to 1656 and an Anglican cleric) had carefully calculated that the counting of days and years had begun at nightfall preceding October 23, 4004 B.C.E.   In China, we are in the Year of the Golden Pig, numbered 4704, and reflecting the relative antiquity of their civilization.     If Archbishop Usher's chronology were followed today, we would be in 6010 until next month.  At any rate, we will next select a governor in 2010, by the Gregorian calendar.

Through that year, we want Governor Spitzer to do his best, and we want people to treat him with dignity and respect, in the hope that that will encourage him to do the same.  We know he can do it, and we want him to succeed.  He is, after all, the only governor we have.  He deserves a fresh start.                  


#411  9.10.07     1289wds