Eliot Spitzer

Stupid host tricks

bniolet — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 12:23:39 -0400

So David Letterman's late unpleasantness has Dome thinking a lot about glass houses.

Letterman, of course, has taken one or two jabs at John Edwards over the years. Famously, the late night king of Top 10s, monkey cams and watermelon drops mussed Edwards expensively coiffed hair.

Once Edwards extra-marital affair hit the news, Letterman has mostly gone easy on Edwards, according to a roundup of Edwards jokes. (Leno appears to really, really enjoy picking at Edwards). Dome has previously noted a couple of cracks.

Over the years, Letterman has picked on Eliot Spitzer, David Vitter, Bill Clinton and Gary Hart, the AP's Frazier Moore notes.

"Big weekend for Gary Hart," cracked Letterman when the Hart scandal broke: "He was campaigning his brains out."

Moore asked politicians to take a shot at Letterman. None did.

Edwards, of course, should feel free to submit a Letterman joke in the comments section.

E. Edwards sparks a discussion

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 14:15:48 -0400

Should Elizabeth Edwards bear some responsibility for the marital infidelities of her husband, former senator and presidential candidate John Edwards?

Two high profile women, Sally Quinn and Lee Woodruff, have been debating the question in the blogosphere, Rob Christensen reports.

Quinn, an author and former Washington Post columnist, wrote in the Huffington Post that Elizabeth Edwards may have been an enabler.

Quinn said Edwards' infidelities were not different from those of former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer or former President Bill Clinton. She called them "enabling wives."

"Nobody has more respect for Elizabeth Edwards than I do," Quinn writes. "First of all, any woman who has lost a child gets a pass for life from me. Nothing could be more horrible. Not only that, she is brilliant, clever, capable, decent and courageous."

But the problem, Quinn writes, is "she let him do it."

More after the jump.

Edwards gets votes for AG

bkrueger — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 17:57:32 -0500

Somebody out there still likes John Edwards.

The New York Times, on its Web site, has an interactive feature to let readers cast their votes about Barack Obama's options for some of his cabinet posts.

Edwards is currently the seventh most popular choice for attorney general. He trails the likes of Chris Dodd and Ron Paul, but is ahead of folks like Hillary Clinton, Ralph Nader and Eliot Spitzer.

Richard Moore's openness offensive

ryanteaguebeckwith — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 17:47:56 -0400

Richard Moore has recently become very accessible.

The Democratic gubernatorial candidate has held two open-ended press conferences in recent weeks in which he answered questions from reporters.

In the first case, the subject was his economic stimulus package. At the second, it was an endorsement by a state union.

But in both cases, he stayed late to field questions on a variety of other subjects, including the impact of the presidential race, his thoughts on Eliot Spitzer and the failure of mental health reform.

At the end of the second press conference, Moore made a point of noting his openness, referring to deputy campaign manager Julie White.

"Did you notice Julie didn't try to cut anybody off or keep you all away from me?" he asked, rhetorically.

Moore's openness offensive is a deliberate attempt to draw a contrast with rival Beverly Perdue, who has been the least accessible gubernatorial candidate. (Not to mention Gov. Mike Easley, who's had some access problems of his own.) It dovetails nicely with his call for more debates.

And — caveat lector — it could also be an attempt to cultivate a better relationship with the press.

Still, gambit or no, it's a welcome effort by any candidate.

Moore: Spitzer downfall 'sad'

ryanteaguebeckwith — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 13:30:29 -0400

Richard Moore will not be sending Eliot Spitzer's donations back.

At a press conference today, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate was asked if he would return the $4,000 from the former New York governor and his wife, Silda Wall Spitzer.

He responded by noting that his rival, Beverly Perdue, has not returned contributions from former Board of Transportation member Thomas Betts.

"I would love to talk about returning campaign contributions when the lieutenant governor returns all of the DOT bundling money that she's been taking," he said.

He was then asked about his thoughts on Spitzer, who once held a fundraiser for him and had praised Moore at an event in Asheville.

"I feel very sad for his family," he said. "I think most of you know that Silda has a lot of connections to North Carolina as a native and a graduate of Meredith. I really feel for she and their three daughters. It's a sad time."

Spitzer story disappears from Moore's site

ryanteaguebeckwith — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 08:44:36 -0400

An Eliot Spitzer story has vanished from Richard Moore's Web site.

Until some time yesterday, a story from the Asheville Citizen-Times was reprinted on the Democratic gubernatorial candidate's site.

In it, Spitzer is quoted talking about problems with Wall Street in an address to the N.C. Bar Association in Asheville. He also uses some now-unfortunate wording when talking about investment banks he accused of defrauding investors.

He told members of the N.C. Bar Association gathered at the Grove Park Inn that states, especially when they work together, could stop such moral decay in the market.

He also praises Moore for using the state's pension fund to push for reforms on Wall Street.

The story had been reprinted in a section of news articles about Moore, but that page is no longer active. Other references to Spitzer on the site, including a brief description on the campaign blog, are still on the Internet, however.

Hat Tip: Jordan Schrader

Spitzer connections in North Carolina

ryanteaguebeckwith — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 09:38:39 -0400

New York's (likely) next governor is a fan of Beverly Perdue's.

With Gov. Eliot Spitzer weighing a resignation in the wake of a prostitution scandal, Lt. Gov. David A. Patterson is set to become the chief executive of the Empire State.

According to campaign finance records, Patterson gave $2,500 to Perdue, a fellow lieutenant governor and Democratic gubernatorial candidate here.

She also received a donation from Pennsylvania's lieutenant governor.

Other local connections: Spitzer's wife, Silda, graduated from Meredith College in Raleigh; and Spitzer gave the keynote speech at the N.C. Bar Association meeting Asheville in June.

Spitzer once hosted a New York fundraiser for Perdue's rival, Richard Moore, according to the Charlotte Observer. According to campaign finance records, Spitzer and his wife each gave Moore $4,000 last May.

In Asheville, he praised Moore for using his position as state treasurer to fight investment firms.

"In a world where there was no enforcement," Spitzer said, according to the Asheville Citizen-Times, "we had to step in to ensure the integrity of the marketplace."

Moore was frequently compared to Spitzer for his Wall Street crusades, but both Moore and political reporters will avoid the comparison now.

Candidates at the Bar

bkrueger — Tue, 19 Jun 2007 11:19:42 -0400

The five major candidates for governor will get a chance this weekend to make their case to the state’s lawyers.

The N.C. Bar Association has invited Republican candidates Bill Graham, Bob Orr and Fred Smith and Democratic candidates Richard Moore and Beverly Perdue to speak Saturday at the group’s annual meeting in Asheville.

The association will also hear from someone who was recently elected governor. New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer is giving the keynote address.

Meredith's first lady

ryanteaguebeckwith — Mon, 30 Apr 2007 08:10:00 -0400

New York's new first lady studied at Meredith College in Raleigh.

According to the spring issue of Meredith magazine, Gov. Eliot Spitzer's wife studied history and English at the women's college.

Silda Wall Spitzer graduated in 1980. She then went onto Harvard Law School, where she met her husband. After graduation, she was in-house counsel for Chase Manhattan Bank and co-founded Children for Children.

"My life has always been varied, full and challenging between pursuing professional interests, being engaged in our community and raising a family," she told the magazine.