Suitably Flip

Eliot Spitzer Is Growns Up

Now that New York Attorney General and goobernatorial hopeful Eliot Spitzer has had a few months to settle into the roles of campaigner, frontrunner, glad-hander, etc., he seems to be really hitting his stride as a page one politician.

From Newsday, last Wednesday:

A proposal by Gov. George Pataki to provide $500 tax credits to parents in underperforming school districts - potentially for private school tuition - was criticized Wednesday as a thinly disguised voucher program while state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer questioned whether it might face a constitutional battle.

"I think there will be serious constitutional issues if they are used for parochial schools," said Spitzer, the only announced Democratic candidate for governor.

And from Friday's NY Sun:

Mr. Spitzer yesterday said that he was receptive to the governor's plan and that he did not intend to give the impression that it would have legal problems.
...
In a statement, Mr. Spitzer said his response Wednesday to a query from The New York Sun "should not be construed to imply that I believe that there are such problems in Governor Pataki's proposal, or that I am opposed to education tax credits." He added: "In fact, I support the idea of education tax credits."

Only a fully developed politico could appreciate the nuance of this distinction.  And only a Democrat could see past the confines of consistency or coherence to find a way to protect a tax.

Unrelatedly, on Friday Spitzer also released a press release on the AG office website that did little other than rail against the Pataki administration on the topic of prescription drug pricing.  That strikes me as a mildly inappropriate use of public resources.

You really are filling out nicely, Mr. Spitzer.

Comments

Eliot Spitzer Is Growns Up

Now that New York Attorney General and goobernatorial hopeful Eliot Spitzer has had a few months to settle into the roles of campaigner, frontrunner, glad-hander, etc., he seems to be really hitting his stride as a page one politician.

From Newsday, last Wednesday:

A proposal by Gov. George Pataki to provide $500 tax credits to parents in underperforming school districts - potentially for private school tuition - was criticized Wednesday as a thinly disguised voucher program while state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer questioned whether it might face a constitutional battle.

"I think there will be serious constitutional issues if they are used for parochial schools," said Spitzer, the only announced Democratic candidate for governor.

And from Friday's NY Sun:

Mr. Spitzer yesterday said that he was receptive to the governor's plan and that he did not intend to give the impression that it would have legal problems.
...
In a statement, Mr. Spitzer said his response Wednesday to a query from The New York Sun "should not be construed to imply that I believe that there are such problems in Governor Pataki's proposal, or that I am opposed to education tax credits." He added: "In fact, I support the idea of education tax credits."

Only a fully developed politico could appreciate the nuance of this distinction.  And only a Democrat could see past the confines of consistency or coherence to find a way to protect a tax.

Unrelatedly, on Friday Spitzer also released a press release on the AG office website that did little other than rail against the Pataki administration on the topic of prescription drug pricing.  That strikes me as a mildly inappropriate use of public resources.

You really are filling out nicely, Mr. Spitzer.