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Updated
June 8, 2006
Reprinted from the Times Union, January 10, 2006
Spitzer responds to questions of temperament
State attorney general said today,
"You do not challenge the status quo by whispering"By ELIZABETH BENJAMIN, Capitol bureau
Last updated: 12:43 p.m., Tuesday, January 10, 2006ALBANY -- State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, the frontrunner for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, was forced yet again to address the issue of his temperament today -- a subject that has dogged him for weeks.
Spitzer said that those who are accusing him now of losing his temper and making threats to use the power of his office in retaliation for their criticism of him ``feel beleaguered because we have caught them lying, stealing, cheating and defrauding the public.''
The attorney general again acknowledged he may have exchanged tough words while negotiating with adversaries, but, he insisted, ``never, obviously, as a threat.'' Read Spitzer denies threatening critic published Friday, Jan. 6.
``We have done what needs to be done, what it was right to do,'' Spitzer said. ``As I have said, you do not challenge the status quo by whispering. You do not change the status quo by being afraid to stand up against some very powerful interests.''
The issue of Spitzer's temper came to the forefront last month when ex-Wall Street executive John Whitehead, the appointed chairman of the state Lower Manhattan Development Corp., wrote an opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal in which he accused Spitzer of having threatened him by telephone eight months before.
Whitehead, who said he took notes on the conversation but did not tape it, alleged Spitzer told him: ``I will be coming after you. You will pay the price'' for publicly criticizing Spitzer's investigation of an ally, insurance magnate Maurice Greenberg.
Spitzer, who has accused Greenberg of misleading investors of American International Group Inc. through improper accounting, has repeatedly denied making that statement to Whitehead.
Asked whether he regretted any discussions he might have had in the past, Spitzer replied: ``Of course, you look back on statements and conversations and say yeah, you could have changed a word here and there...that is the nature of the give and take that goes on with folks.''
Spitzer would not discuss which words specifically he might have changed.
Spitzer's comments came today in response to questions from reporters following an event at the Crowne Plaza at which he was endorsed by most of the state Legislature's black, Hispanic and Asian members. Spitzer said he did not believe the fact that he is supported by most members of a body so many consider dysfunctional will prevent him from seeking to reform government.
``I don't think anybody who has seen me speak to that, who has seen what we have done in terms of government investigations with respect to authorities, what we have done in terms of Medicaid recoveries...I don't think anybody will doubt that I'm a reformer.''
The attorney general, who had $12.3 million on hand in mid-July, said his campaign would post a ``healthy'' balance in the next financial filing due at the end of the week to the state Board of Elections.
Spitzer professed to be unconcerned by the possibility that he might be challenged for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination by Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi. It has been widely speculated Suozzi will enter the race, perhaps as early as Friday. Spitzer said he has not asked Suozzi not to run.
``It's not for me to give him advice,'' the attorney general said.
Spitzer said he is not managing his own campaign, adding: ``I think I've learned a candidate who is also a campaign manager usually gets into trouble. I've tried to leave those decisions to others.''
Elizabeth Benjamin can be reached at 454-5081 or by e-mail at ebenjamin@timesunion.com.
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