Eliot Spitzer's rehab: Media to the rescue?

by Rebecca Cole

Looks like disgraced former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer wants to get back on the horse.

Spitzer, forced to resign a year ago amid a scandalous expose of his cavorting with a high-priced prostitute, kicked off a mainstream media tour this morning on NBC's Today show to try and burnish his reputation as the sheriff of Wall Street. Although Spitzer writes a bi-weekly online column for Slate called "The Best Policy" and has appeared on local New York radio shows to talk about the economy, this is the first time the ex-"steamroller" has answered questions about his salacious transgressions.

To his credit, host Matt Lauer didn't hold any punches and came out swinging, saying, "We'll get to the 800-pound gorilla in the room in a moment," and immediately asked why Spitzer was stepping back into the spotlight.

"I've tried to apologize to, of course, my family, to colleagues, to the state, for what I did for which there are no excuses possible," Spitzer replied. "But I've also been asked my views about important issues because I've worked for many years trying to address some of the issues that unfortunately have been dragging down our economy and shaking the very foundation of our economy."

Prior to his downfall, Spitzer focused on rooting out and exposing corruption with a passionate fervor as New York's attorney general. From mob bosses to Wall Street's masters of the universe, Spitzer went after them all, taking down the Gambino crime family, Merrill Lynch and AIG, among others.

Governor for just 14 months, in Albany the Democrat continued his bull-in-a-china-shop antics that served him well as attorney general. But he underestimated the capital's provincial party politics, and ended up alienating lawmakers and solidifying partisan sentiment against him.

Never prosecuted for his actions, Spitzer was vague when Lauer requested a "ballpark figure" as to the frequency of Spitzer's encounters with the prostitute, Ashlee Dupree. "Not frequently, not long in the grand context of my life," Spitzer said.

"What I did was an egregious violation of behavior that I fell into for many reasons," Spitzer continued, "none of them an excuse of justifiable."

What price Spitzer ultimately will pay remains to be seen. Yes, he was stripped of the governorship and was publicly humiliated. But if he can reinvent himself as "flawed" but still viable, a la former President Bill Clinton, then that price may not be quite so steep.

Spitzer's return to the spotlight was inevitable. In his resignation speech last year, he pledged to return to public service following a period of soul-searching. Perhaps the lack of a strong-armed leader outside of Washington to shepherd a Wall Street turnaround has convinced Spitzer his time of atonement is up.

But, weakened they may be right now, the gauntlet of Spitzer's enemies still have their swords drawn.