Spitzer On A Spit

The Opinion Journal believes it has figured out why Eliot Spitzer has fallen so far so fast: his nasty behavior caught up with him.

Given Mr. Spitzer's fall in the polls, it's tempting to say New Yorkers have learned something new about the man who said on his inauguration day that, "we must change the ethics of Albany and end the politics of cynicism and division in our state." But the bullying, the arrogance and the focus on destroying anyone who stood his way were on full display when he was Attorney General.

Most of the media chose to overlook these qualities, instead extolling his "crusading" style. Readers of this newspaper knew better, having seen (among other things) how he threatened to destroy John Whitehead, the former Goldman Sachs and State Department official, for daring to defend former AIG CEO Hank Greenberg in public.

The only real difference between Mr. Spitzer now and then is that as Governor he is obliged to govern, as opposed to merely bringing charges amid a PR offensive and then settling before having to prove anything in court. His heavy-handed approach to the drivers license plan shows the limits of such behavior in a job where he actually has to persuade people.

A lot of his frenetic barrage of proposals has been an effort to distract from the so-called 'toopergate' scandal. That inquiry may yet topple Spitzer. But it is that hostile, angry, vengeful way of conducting himself that has brought all of this down on his head. Sometimes, the karmic wheel just spins a bit faster for some folks. Sometimes the wheel bears a strange resemblance to a barbecue spit. Spitzer appears to be on the latter.