Governor, Oh Governor,…
Posted by Mitch Mitchell on Mar 11, 2008
Well, I went years without ever saying it in person, and now it looks like I'm going to say something like this twice in less than 30 days.
By now, everyone knows what's going on with the governor of my great state of New York. Of course, once the floodgates have been opened, the skies the limit, and people who are entrusted to keep secrets just can't help themselves in doling out more and more tawdry information. In just about 36 hours, a lifetime of good professional works have been thrown away by what appears to be multiple indiscretions and bad judgment, and possible criminal behavior of a federal type; not good at all.
I really hate saying that someone should resign, but in this case once again I guess I have to say it. Eliot Spitzer was elected because he was Mr. Clean. He was elected because he was going to clean up corruption. He was elected because he was going to hold our congress accountable for doing the right thing as it pertained to the budget and to the people. He was elected to create jobs. And he was elected with a whopping 83% of the vote.
Right now, it's looking like we were all fooled in some fashion. Now, I'm not one who beats people up for indiscretions most of the time. I didn't care that President Clinton did what he did because he'd told everyone he wanted to be like President Kennedy, who did things like this and more in an environment where the press didn't report on the personal lives of the leaders of our country, for good or bad. And none of us had thought of President Clinton as a boy scout anyway; other than his wife and Ken Starr, most of us really weren't shocked when he made his announcement.
In this case, though, I was thoroughly shocked and stunned. And I wasn't the only one, as the reporters on CNN, MSNBC, and locally just couldn't believe they were even saying what he was being accused of. And even with that, I don't believe that's why he should resign.
I believe he should resign because there's no way the state of New York can progress with him in office. The Republicans now have a rallying cry, and they were already upset with some of the things he's been trying to do. The Democrats are presently split down the middle as to what they think of him, and those who are supporting him are doing so because they say it's more of a personal matter between him and his family; unfortunately, the federal government doesn't seem to believe that. There's not a single program the governor could recommend right now that the majority of congress would think of passing because the majority is trying to scramble away from him. When a leader can't get those whose help he needs to work with him, then a leader isn't a leader, and it's time to let someone else take over the reins. In this case, David Patterson would be an interesting choice as governor, though outside of New York City most of us have no idea who he is, let alone what he stands for.
Eliot Spitzer is a very rich man already; he certainly doesn't need the money, and even if he never works again, he's set for life. So, I'm not calling on a man to give up his livelihood and then have to worry about what he'll do to make money for the rest of his life. I'm calling on him to do the right thing for the right reasons, and let this thing die out so we can get back to the truly important issues once again.
That's what a real leader would do.