Eliot Spitzer - Just you're Average Bully and Punk

The second remarkable story about the self-appointed Messiah Elliot Spitzer in this morning's Wall Street Journal is a short piece by the former director of Goldman Sachs John C. Whitehead, who wrote an op-ed in the WSJ earlier this year after Spitzer publicly accused Maurice Greenberg of felony crimes before the AG had even charged him. Now we know that Greenburg, in fact, committed no crimes. The best that Spitzer could do was suggest that there might have been something awry with an estate settlement 37 years ago. That issue, of course, in addition to not being a criminal or civil allegation, has nothing to do with what Spitzer was 'investigating' Greenberg for earlier this year. So Spitzer came out and publicly slandered and libeled Mr. Greenberg, forcing him to resign from his position, without having any facts to back up his assertions. Mr Whitehead pointed out that it was wrong for Spitzer to do that - that in America persons are presumed innocent until proven guilty, and that Spitzer hadn't even charged Greenberg with a crime when Spitzer publicly stated as fact that Greenberg had committed crimes. That op-ed earned Whitehead a call from Spitzer. Judge for yourself, but this shows that Spitzer is, at the very least, a seriously disturbed individual:

"Scary
By JOHN C. WHITEHEAD
December 22, 2005; Page A14

Last April, The Wall Street Journal published an op-ed piece by me titled "Mr. Spitzer Has Gone Too Far." In it I expressed my belief that in America, everyone -- including Hank Greenberg -- is innocent until proven guilty. "Something has gone seriously awry," I wrote, "when a state attorney general can go on television and charge one of America's best CEOs and most generous philanthropists with fraud before any charges have been brought, before the possible defendant has even had a chance to know what he personally is alleged to have done, and while the investigation is still under way."

Since there have been rumors in the media as to what happened next, I feel I must now set the record straight. After reading my op-ed piece, Mr. Spitzer tried to phone me. I was traveling in Texas but he reached me early in the afternoon. After asking me one or two questions about where I got my facts, he came right to the point. I was so shocked that I wrote it all down right away so I would be sure to remember it exactly as he said it. This is what he said:

"Mr. Whitehead, it's now a war between us and you've fired the first shot. I will be coming after you. You will pay the price. This is only the beginning and you will pay dearly for what you have done. You will wish you had never written that letter."

I tried to interrupt to say he was doing to me exactly what he'd been doing to others, but he wouldn't be interrupted. He went on in the same vein for several more sentences and then abruptly hung up. I was astounded. No one had ever talked to me like that before. It was a little scary.

It's up to others to make their own conclusions. I have only set out here what happened."

All Eliot Spitzer is is a commonplace bully and punk, with some serious psychological issues. The frightening thing is that he is also the Attorney General of the State of New York, and is running for Governor.