Any hope that the Governor was adjusting his game plan in the wake of “Travelgate” is now officially over. It appears that weeks of pleading and prodding have had no discernable effect in light of his recent speech at the Chautauqua Institution on Tuesday.

Specifically, the Governor expressed his continued adherence to the belief that force is his only weapon against the Albany establishment. While acknowledging that passion had gotten the best of his administration in recent weeks, the Governor asserted that, “only when we are willing to confront power with power can we even begin to address the injustices of our time.” (NYT – Metro – B2 – 8/8/07)

This type of rhetoric and attitude was great when he was the so-called sheriff of Wall Street. However, times and circumstances have dramatically changed. He no longer has a badge and gun (figuratively). That is, he is no longer the Attorney General (a.k.a. – chief law enforcement officer) of New York.

Nevertheless, he does not seem to have gotten the memo – even in the wake of all the heat this fiasco has produced and supposedly will continue to produce. Indeed, if there are those who believe this hunger to “muscle” opponents is unique to the Governor and his inner circle – think again.

The New York Times reported on Saturday that the Governor’s assistant secretary of energy and telecommunications (Steven Mitnick) had resigned on Friday, apparently in the wake of an investigation into allegations that he threatened a Republican member of the Public Service Commission.

More troubling is the fact that Mr. Mitnick makes his home in Washington, D.C. Why is this troubling? Because it begins to make clear that the Governor is fostering an environment of “my way or the highway” that is being fed down to people with no recent connection to the Empire State or Albany. Moreover, this begins to cement the impression among insiders, activists and the public that the Governor is, well, a bully.

After 6+ years of “dumbya” and Dr. Strangelove (a.k.a. – Dr. Evil, er, Dr. No, er, “Dick” Cheney) the public at large is wary of such heavy-handed tactics. Indeed, if you listen to the rhetoric of the Democratic presidential candidates you will hear a decidedly cooperative tone in the way that they describe their potential administrations – vis-à-vis the modus operandi they will employ as Commander in Chief.

Again, another example of where New York Democrats have not gotten the memo – re: national trends. Of course, some will argue that New York – because of its dysfunctional legislature and policymaking structure – does not fit into the national model.

This is a valid argument – however, Eliot Spitzer ran on the platform of “everything changes on Day One.” Therefore, while it is perfectly valid to point out that New York Republicans and Joe Bruno practice a bare-knuckled brand of politics, it is not acceptable for the Governor to take office and immediately sink to their level.

There is more than one way to skin a cat. Indeed, it has been suggested that the Governor would have more success – both from a PR and practical perspective – in changing the rules of the game itself. Moreover, this is the “bill of goods” that the Governor was peddling when he ran last year. And, it is what activists and many Democrats throughout New York bought into and were expecting on “Day One.”

This is one of the primary reasons why the Governor is taking such heat. First, he is losing at the very game – a.k.a., “three men in a room” – he professed to disdain on the campaign trail and second, he has shown (in the past two weeks) a clear intention of not wanting to change that same dysfunctional game.

Many have argued that the Governor should take more aggressive steps to refocus the public’s attention on the bad actor in this tragedy – Joe Bruno – and away from the distraction that is “Travelgate.” Unfortunately that ship has sailed as a viable public relations and politic tactic– the Governor and his team are unfortunately guilty of “laches.”

There is no question that New York desperately needs a strong leader with both the policies and ability to make a lasting difference. What the Governor seems to keep missing is the fact that there are greater goals at stake here - other than Eliot Spitzer the individual and some would say ambitious politician.

Indeed, Eliot Spitzer, the individual, would do himself and New York a greater service and create a legacy that would serve as a shining example for the nation to follow, if he put aside his ego, dealt with the current fiasco forthrightly – i.e., not the way he and his administration are currently proceeding with the “Bushian” practice of legal parsing about pubic and private e-mails – and forced Joe Bruno and the Senate Republicans to address the true bad actor in this situation, the dysfunctional system that is “three men in a room.”

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