Ex-Governer Spitzer to Pen Weekly Column on Economy and Regs
The Web can be a place for reputation resurrection. Just ask disgraced former Wall Street analyst Henry Blodget or now disgraced former New York Governor Elliot Spitzer.
No, Spitzer will not be writing a relationship advice column.
His new column, called 'The Best Policy,' will be appearing weekly on online news and commentary site Slate. In it, he'll address the economics and financial regulations.
For those of you not following political news about anyone not named Barack Obama, Spitzer resigned his office after being found to have had an ongoing relationship with a high-priced hooker.
Blodget was a well-regarded analyst who appeared to have his finger on the pulse of the market during the dot-com boom. When things went bust, though, he was found out to have pumped up certain stocks publicly while trashing them in e-mails to colleagues. It was through Slate.com that he started his reputation resurrection and now he's gone on to found Silicon Alley Insider, a blog about internet business trends and research.
What are Spitzer's goals with this column? Well, since he left office he's been working for his father's real estate company and – we assume – spending a lot of time grovelling to his wife and family. By re-entering the public arena with a column focused on the economy and Wall Street, he gets back to the topic that made him famous in the first place. While New York State Attorney General, Spitzer investigated numerous firms for bad practices and became known as the "Sheriff of Wall Street."
Who else has tried resurrect a reputation or career with some well-placed media hits and public good deeds? We count:
- Newt Gingrich, who was blamed for failed leadership of the Republican-led Congress, left his position but has since come back as a respected political commentator and Republican thinker.
- Britney Spears, no explanation necessary.*
- Kevin Mitnick, famous hacker who went to prison but now runs a computer consultancy, advising people on security issues. He also writes and speaks on the topic.
- Larry Summers, former president of Harvard University who lost his position after saying women were not as capable in academia as men. Now he's in President-elect Obama's cabinet.
- H.R. Haldemann and John Ehrlichman, former Richard Nixon aides convicted for their roles in the Watergate break-in who started their paths to reputation recovery while still in prison. They later wrote books critical of the Nixon administration and their own misdeeds.
[Source: Reuters.]
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