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Stunned experts mixed on Spitzer's future

By Emily Ngo | engo@am-ny.com

March 11, 2008

New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer Linked To Prostitution Ring

New York Governor Eliot Spitzer speaks to the media with his wife Silda Spitzer while delivering an apology to his family and the public following reported links to the Emperors Club VIP prostitution ring March 10, 2008 in New York City. Spitzer apologized to his family and public during the press conference but did not directly address the reports of his being linked to a prostitution ring. (Mario Tama, Getty Images / March 10, 2008)

Shocked political pundits took turns speculating on Gov. Eliot Spitzer's future Monday as news circulated of his involvement in a prostitution ring.

"It's just a stunning jolt you could never imagine," said George Arzt, a consultant who worked on Spitzer's attorney general campaign in 1999. "I don't think anything in this state's history compares to that, certainly not at this level."

The governor has not yet been charged, noted Arzt, who urged Spitzer "take some time before resigning, just to get things together."

Doug Muzzio, a professor of political science at Baruch College, said: "This was a guy who projected such public and private rectitude. I don't know if it's a feeling of invulnerability or arrogance, or just an XY chromosome, but here's another smart guy doing a really stupid thing."

Quinnipiac University pollster Maurice Carroll said the Bronx native's resignation was imminent.

"Oh, he's out. I don't see how he could possibly survive," Carroll said. "Whether he's guilty of breaking the law, he's guilty of stupidity. Hell, they've got him on tape."

The longer Spitzer stays in office, the more he might feel the pressure from fellow lawmakers, particularly Republican Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, said Kenneth Sherrill, a political science professor at Hunter College.

"The question is, Will Bruno try to do something?" Sherrill said. "Will he start the impeachment process? There's certainly no love between Bruno and Spitzer."

A governor preoccupied with a scandal would only add further tension among Democrats fighting to control the state Senate, Sherrill said.

"It provides Bruno with an opening that the Democratic party wouldn't want Bruno to have," he said.

Sherrill, however, said don't count Spitzer out just yet.

"Any number of politicians have been caught in similar situations, sometimes more flagrant," Sherrill said. "People come back. The long and short of it is that maybe people in New York don't care terribly about something like it."