3.14.2008

a few brief thoughts about new york state

In the whole mess going on in my home state, I just realized that David Paterson will soon be Governor. He's an excellent man whose career I have followed for a long time. I hope he's up to the job. It's such a crazy one.

David Paterson will be the first African American Governor of New York State. He is also a person with a disability; he is blind. Of course, he's not the first person with a disability to hold that position, as FDR blazed that trail long ago.

I was pretty shocked about Eliot Spitzer. A person who has built an entire career on fighting corruption - including prosecuting the clients of sex workers! - should perhaps make sure his glass house is in order. I always wonder what compels people to take such chances, when getting caught could ruin their lives.

Ordinarily I would agree with the many people saying that this is a private issue, between Spitzer and his family, and he should not be forced to resign. However, when hypocrisy of this magnitude is exposed, the public official loses all credibility. In the super-heated atmosphere of Albany politics - one of the most cut-throat and dirty governments anywhere - it's difficult to hold any credibility. Once something like this breaks, the official is completely useless.

Of course, Albany is completely useless anyway, but that's a separate issue.

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