As a part of the Eliot Spitzer Image Rehabilitation Tour of 2010, the former governor sat down with the Times last week to talk about Andrew Cuomo, the man who seems poised to follow in Spitzer’s footsteps from attorney general to governor. The big takeaway from the interview: Spitzer isn’t much of a Cuomo fan. In fact, he thinks he’s kind of a pushover who hasn’t been hard enough on Wall Street and is too driven by politics.
On Cuomo’s approach toward the financial industry: The AG’s work has been superficial and he hasn’t put in the “harder work that would have taken a bit more time, and would have been, frankly, a bit more disruptive to Wall Street.”
On Cuomo’s ability to tackle big problems: “I think the issue is, will he have the stomach to pick political fights or to pick fights that will have negative political consequences?”
On whether Cuomo will win his vote: “I do want to see who else will be in the race. I don’t say that to slight him. He hasn’t answered the hard questions yet about how he will govern the state, so I think it’s fair to say, ‘Let’s wait and see.’”
A spokesman for Andrew Cuomo responded to Spitzer with a perfectly crafted burn: “The attorney general’s record, credibility and honor speak for themselves, as do Mr. Spitzer’s.”
