Eliot Spitzer, CNN commentator and New York political veteran, endorsed fellow Democrat Andrew Cuomo in his quest to be New York’s governor.  Then he said:

“The problem that Andrew has is that everybody knows that behind the scenes, he is the dirtiest, nastiest political player out there, and that is his reputation from years in Washington. He had brass knuckles, and he played hardball. He has a lot of enemies out there. Nobody’s been willing to stand up to him.”

Eliot Spitzer thus officially confirms his belief that being nasty and dirty, and everything that implies (such as lack of integrity and fairness, ruthlessness, dishonesty, deceit, vindictiveness, and meanness, as well as a Machiavellian approach to governing)  justifies the trust of the people of New York. Spitzer also had a reputation for being a ruthless politician; in his case, the trust of the voters was misplaced. He resigned as governor after he was caught participating in a prostitution ring and violating the Mann Act. This, however, did not stop CNN from hiring him as a political pundit, to remind viewers that they ought to keep on electing and trusting candidates just as nasty and dirty as he was.

This is one more bit of evidence supporting the thesis that the political class not only doesn’t respect ethical values, it disdains them.