From making the news to breaking the news

And he’s back.

Eliot Spitzer, former governor of New York, recently made his debut on CNN’s Parker Spitzer as a liberal talk show host alongside Kathleen Parker, conservative commentator.

It’s not surprising Spitzer jumped at a chance to work for CNN. After he was ousted from his position as NY Governor in 2008, he found a job as an economic columnist at Slate magazine. When the Financial Times asked how he liked his new career, he replied, “It sucks. I used to be governor of New York.”  

I do believe Spitzer, and anyone else who slips up, deserves a second chance, but I don’t believe it should be on a revered news network.
    
This might be a radical notion to some, but how about our journalists and commentators stick to giving the news, not creating it?
    
Criticizing the words, ideologies and actions of others will only draw more attention to Spitzer’s royal screw-up. At this point, everything he says will be viewed as an example of his bias and indomitable will to enter the public’s good graces again.

Since Spitzer has expressed passion and knowledge in the realm of economics through his Slate column and various interviews, it is understandable that he would wish to be in a position of power and change.

Attaining a position of change after a slip-up is definitely possible (i.e. Bill Clinton had a much publicized affair with Monica Lewinsky but now runs a widespread foundation and persuaded North Korea to release two American journalists), but Spitzer having real power again is probably wishful thinking.

If Spitzer wishes to redeem himself, he should backtrack to where he started — politics. Yes, it’s unlikely that he would get elected to a major office anytime soon, but there are other ways to make change: interest groups, political campaigns, non-profit organizations, etc.

And if that does not satiate his thirst for politics, he should simply stick to writing columns. Once you enter the world of television, your fiery vision to change the world will fizzle somewhat.

Television is about three things: ratings, ratings, ratings. That being said, I’ll be curious to see whether Spitzer surpasses Glenn Beck on the ‘crazy’ scale by the end of next year.

Another issue with trying to reinvent your reputation on television is the fact that TV commentators try to align themselves with middle-class America when it’s uncomfortably obvious that they’re anything but.

At the beginning of Parker Spitzer’s premier episode, Spitzer implores President Obama to fire Timothy Geithner, the Secretary of the Treasury, because “we need more jobs” and “we are suffering.”

Really? You’re suffering? Because I’m pretty sure that any non-politician fired from his or her job for being enmeshed in a prostitution scandal would never come anywhere near prime-time television and a half-million dollar salary.

But Spitzer is an intelligent man. He probably figures that headlining his own talk show on a prominent network is a clever plan to worm his way back into the hearts of America.

He’ll juxtapose his scandalous past with Parker’s perfectly manicured blonde hair, crack a few jokes, show heartfelt concern for a few personal accounts of tragedy, and boom, he will bask in glory once again.
 
He might not be governor of New York anymore, but he’s still playing the game of politics.