Mar 10, 2008 8:10 pm US/Eastern
Analysis: Holier-Than-Thou Spitzer Won't Survive
Famed University Of Virginia Professor Sabato Says Stupidity Staggering
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Political expert Larry J. Sabato tells wcbstv.com he sees no way Eliot Spitzer can remain governor of New York State.
Timothy A. Clary/AFP/Getty Images
CBS station WCBS-TV in New York City spoke Monday with Larry J. Sabato, the Robert Kent Gooch Professor of Politics at the University of Virginia, about the prostitution ring scandal that may ultimately force Eliot Spitzer to resign his post as governor of New York.
Sabato, a leading political mind and founder of Crystal Ball, UVa's Center for Politics Web site, said Spitzer's alleged actions fly in the face of everything he's stood for since his days as the self-proclaimed "Sheriff of Wall Street," the crime fighter who took on any and all white collar offenders.
"I've studied political scandals for decades and written three books on the subject," Sabato told WCBS-TV exclusively. "The key factor, other than the offense itself, is hypocrisy. Candidates who don't pretend to be saints can often survive scandals that kill off other officeholders.
"Spitzer has a major case of the hypocrisy problem. He has taken a holier-than-thou stance for years. If you are going to pose as a corruption-fighter, you need to make sure you are not corrupt yourself."
Sabato said it's mind-boggling to think that anyone in the public spotlight could be dumb enough to actually think he or she could cover up something of this magnitude.
"Let's add another factor: stupidity. Spitzer's scandal ranks right up there on the stupidity scale," Sabato said. "It's amazing to me that so many governors, senators, and presidential candidates think they are so special and clever that the truth will never come out about them.
"This remarkable conceit has been the downfall of many a public person."
Reliable sources initially told WCBS-TV political reporter Marcia Kramer that Lt. Gov. David Paterson could be handed the job as early as Monday night, though other sources say the process could take up to 48 hours.
Sabato said there are not many reasons for Spitzer to delay his resignation.
"As long as Spitzer is just trying to get a good deal with prosecutors, a temporary fight is reasonable and appropriate," Sabato said. "But if he really wants to hang onto the governorship long-term, he's asking for pain at a new level. He'll be attacked constantly, and he will be an unending national joke.
"Re-election would be out of the question if somehow he survives to 2010. A sane person wouldn't try it."
State Assemblyman James Tedisco (R-Schenectady) told WCBS-TV that he spoke with Paterson earlier Monday evening and that the two discussed Paterson taking on a new role of leadership, leading Tedisco to believe that action was "forthcoming."
Tedisco stopped short of saying the move could happen Monday night.
Sabato said if Paterson becomes governor he will benefit from "the Ford effect."
"He'd have high ratings and a decent honeymoon with voters just because people would be relieved Spitzer is gone, much as Jerry Ford had high ratings after Nixon left the White House to him in 1974 (at least until the Nixon pardon)," Sabato said.
Sabato said Paterson would be the fourth black governor in U.S. history, after P.B.S. Pinchback of Louisiana during Reconstruction, Doug Wilder (D-Va., 1990-1994), and current Gov. Deval Patrick (D-Mass).
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