William J. Holstein

The New York Times and Elliot Spitzer: What Are The Editors Smoking?
APRIL 25--

Eliot Spitzer engaged in one of the most shocking betrayals of the public trust imaginable--at the same time that he was helping enact laws against prostitution and human trafficking, he was flying call girls around and transferring funds across state lines to engage in prostitution. The shame was so great that he had to resign as governor of New York, ending all possible hope of having a role in public office. He even had presidential ambitions. But he blew it, thorougly and completely.

Now the New York Times has conducted an interview with him and put it on today's front page. Spitzer, the man who used the office of attorney general to advance his political career, is quoted as being critical of current Attorney General Andrew Cuomo for making decisions often driven by political considerations. "It's easy to be tough," he is quoted as saying, "if the selection of one's target is driven by politics."

This is spectacularly bad judgment for the Times to interview Spitzer in the first place and put it on the front page and spectacularly bad judgment to let him get away criticizing Cuomo for precisely what Spitzer did as attorney general--Spitzer clearly used his assaults on Citicorp, AIG, Dick Grasso and others to advance his political career.

I can only speculate on why and how the Times made this decision: Is there a social connection between a top editor and Spitzer? The reporter, Sam Roberts, was just the go between, in all likelihood. No reporter would be able to persuade top editors to frontpage a Spitzer interview. The call had to be made at the highest levels of the newspaper. And it was a bad call.