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This Sums Up Why I Disliked Eliot Spitzer
By JLP | March 12, 2008
This statement from Kimberley Strassel’s, Spitzer’s Media Enablers, editorial in today’s Wall Street Journal sums up what I disliked most about Eliot Spitzer:
Mr. Spitzer’s main offense as a prosecutor is that he violated the basic rules of fairness and due process: Innocent until proven guilty; the right to your day in court. The Spitzer method was to target public companies and officials, leak allegations and out-of-context emails to a compliant press, watch the stock price fall, threaten a corporate indictment (a death sentence), and then move in for a quick settlement kill. There was rarely a trial, fair or unfair, involved.
Although I don’t care for Spitzer, I don’t like seeing him go down like this. In some ways I want to cheer the fact that he’s going down but another part of me thinks that I should feel guilty for thinking such a thing and should pity him instead. Anyway, the bottom line is Spitzer lived by the sword and now he’s dying by the sword.
What are your thoughts?
Topics: Miscellaneous | 21 Comments »
March 12th, 2008 at 9:32 am
I think the hypocrite got exactly what he deserved. Sweet, poetic justice indeed.
March 12th, 2008 at 10:01 am
I didn’t follow Spitzer’s career, but as a rule, I am against public hypocrites – especially holier-than-thou hypocrites. If Spitzer had not prosecuted prostitution rings, I would have just considered him scum, treating this as a private matter between him and his family. I consider Guliani in this way.
March 12th, 2008 at 10:05 am
Is it bad that I broke down how much Spitzer’s indiscretion cost per minute ($19.58), and how many trips he could take to our local red light district for the same amount (235).
It is obvious that Spitzer wasn’t practicing any sort of frugality.
All lightness aside what he did was wrong both personally and professionaly and he certainly should have resigned. And I hope that he pays for his indiscretion on a financial and social level.
March 12th, 2008 at 10:39 am
What a nasty ass man. To put his wife’s health at risk is the biggest crime here. He could have given her any type of STD. On top of that, he publicly embarrassed his whole family. If I were his children I would change my name. I really hope his wife does not “stick by him.” That would show that she has no spine and might as well be wearing a burka with mesh coverings for the eyes. Yeah I said it. I mean he was sleeping with prostitutes for 8 years! this is not a one time offence. To keep up lies and depicts for that long all the while persecuting people who do the same thing is the worst kind of human. Burn him at the stake!(just a figure of speech, but he should be made an example out of)
March 12th, 2008 at 10:53 am
I feel for his family and am sorry for what they’re likely going through.
March 12th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
Spitzer was a very effective attorney general:
“Out of 20 S.E.C. settlements for market timing by mutual funds, 16 involved Spitzer when he was New York’s attorney general.
The percentage of illegally-gotten money that mutual funds had to give back in the Spitzer cases was 80 percent — almost full restitution.
In the 4 settlements not involving Spitzer, the S.E.C. settled for 7 percent.”
It’s unfortunate that we care more about what services he uses as a private citizen than actually how good he was at his job.
March 12th, 2008 at 12:29 pm
Andy,
Although I think Spitzer did some good in the beginning, he became an ass and acted as if he were above the law.
Spitzer got what he deserved.
March 12th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
Andy,
One other thing…
You said:
“The percentage of illegally-gotten money that mutual funds had to give back in the Spitzer cases was 80 percent — almost full restitution.”
Yes, but how much of that money made it back to the shareholders of those mutual funds? Probably not much. Instead that money went to wherever Spitzer wanted it to go. In other words, although Spitzer never took possession of the money, he sent it to places that helped him politically.
March 12th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
When Spitzer went after the big brokerage houses, I cheered from my desktop. When he went after the insurance brokers, I understood why he was on the rampage but felt bad for the insurance brokers.
His early reviews as Gov. of New York were mixed at best; he kind of unites both parties in the GW Bush vein, only his core hates him as well.
I hate to see anyone go down in this way. But damn, $80K per year for hookers? $2500 per hour? That better be a memorable hook-up.
March 12th, 2008 at 1:41 pm
I like Freakenomics’ take on the situation.
He got caught doing something bad. I’d say it’s up to his wife how to handle him now. I rate it on the same level as putting Britney Spear’s personal life on the national news.
People often act as if politicians are do-gooders, when often we are reminded that they reward their friends/people that helped them.
I’d take this with a grain of salt, as I’m not involved in politics or the situation as such.
March 12th, 2008 at 4:41 pm
He got caught doing something illegal, he got what he deserved. I feel sorry for his wife and three daughters.
March 12th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
I have been reading a bunch of blog posts about Spitzer since the story broke, and have read the comments, and have found very few people that liked him.
March 12th, 2008 at 7:18 pm
Quote: “In my long career, I don’t remember anything that left me as deeply and profoundly saddened,” Bogle said. “I feel like I’ve lost an ally and a friend.”
Sums it up.
March 12th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
Yes, a man who stopped brokerages from lieing to investors about the quaility of IPOs handeled by an affiliated investment back is a real demon. A man who sued mutual funds for allowing huge investors and hedge funds to trade after hours at the previous day’s prices. Certainly Spitzer was no friend of the small investor who you claim to be looking out for.
Spitzer clearly had problems in his personal life, and he should resign if for no other reason than he engaged in an illegal activity he once threw people in jail for. But he was the best advocate the small investor had on Wall Street, and using his personal indiscretions to smear the cause he promoted is wrong.
Nice to see that AFM joins the Wall Street Journal in knee-jerk support of anyone with a couple of million dollars in their bank account.
March 12th, 2008 at 10:40 pm
And JPL, that’s a pretty serious corruption charge you’re leveling against Spitzer.
“Yes, but how much of that money made it back to the shareholders of those mutual funds? Probably not much. Instead that money went to wherever Spitzer wanted it to go. In other words, although Spitzer never took possession of the money, he sent it to places that helped him politically.”
Want to back that up with some evidence? If that’s true he should certainly do time for more than prostitution.
March 13th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Dan,
Knee-jerk support? I think not.
Seriously, what happened to all this recovered money? Do you know what Spitzer did with it? I’m not accusing but wondering.
I actually liked Spitzer when he first started going after companies but then he went too far.
March 13th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
Dan: I was wondering the same thing. Is there any evidence to back up JLP’s claim that he “sent [recovered money] to places that helped him politically”? I don’t really follow these things that closely, so I don’t know. But that’s a pretty huge accusation.
March 13th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
“Seriously, what happened to all this recovered money? Do you know what Spitzer did with it? I’m not accusing but wondering.”
JLP: Your latest statement is a far cry from your initial assertion. Go back and read what you wrote:
“Yes, but how much of that money made it back to the shareholders of those mutual funds? Probably not much. Instead that money went to wherever Spitzer wanted it to go. In other words, although Spitzer never took possession of the money, he sent it to places that helped him politically.”
March 13th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
Nickel,
I stand by my statement. I’m not saying Spitzer did anything illegal with the money but I do remember reading somewhere (I don’t remember where) that Spitzer allocated some of the funds.
March 13th, 2008 at 6:48 pm
Without facts, I don’t buy the “political reallocation of fund” story.
However, I do recall that in the (first?) Clinton administration, NY wanted to keep all of the state’s settlement money with the tobacco companies. The feds wanted a piece of it too. I have a hard time calling that political.
March 14th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
As an aside, I can understand why JLP may dislike Spitzer – he did lack a certain je ne sais quoi.