CNN Dumps Client No. 9

His political career ended with a bang, his television career with nary a whimper.

CNN has canceled its television talk show hosted by former New York governor Eliot Spitzer, despite a major revamp less than six months ago.

Announcing its fall TV schedule on Wednesday, CNN said that Anderson Cooper's nightly news program AC360 will air in the slot now occupied by Spitzer's "In the Arena".

Spitzer, who debuted his new show on CNN in October 2010 with Washington Post columnist Kathleen Parker, was not mentioned in the line-up. Parker left the show in February after disappointing ratings, and the show was revamped with Spitzer continuing as the main contributor.

"The new line-up showcases anchors who are experienced reporters in covering stories that span the globe," said Ken Jautz, CNN's executive vice president.

Let's face it, life could be worse.

How Does 'Mayor Spitzer' Sound to You?

Let's face it, New Yorkers, would you rather have a self-indulgent, narcissistic megalomaniac named Michael Bloomberg lording over you and your diet for all eternity or would you be willing to take a chance on a self-indulgent, narcissistic megalomaniac to replace him? Unless the current occupant of Gracie Mansion decides to again rewrite the rules and give himself a fourth term in office, you could well wake up in January 2014 with Client Number 9 as your leader. Needless to say, the race could be fun.

Eliot Spitzer's resurrection -- from the disgraced governor better known as Client 9 to CNN talk-show host -- has the political class buzzing about him running for mayor in 2013. Wilder still, one of his former targets is talking about running against him.

Former New York Stock Exchange chief Dick Grasso -- one of the highest-profile targets of Spitzer's uneven assault on Wall Street -- has quietly been telling friends that he's leaning toward challenging Spitzer as a Republican (particularly if Police Commissioner Ray Kelly doesn't seek the GOP nomination himself, as some speculate he will).

Sure, Grasso (a Jackson Heights native) has no political experience, unless you consider his long years as NYSE chief, before he was forced out in 2003 amid the controversy over his massive compensation package. But ever since he beat back Spitzer's charges that he'd improperly collected tens of millions in salary as the head of the NYSE back in 2008, Grasso's been dropping hints to reporters that he may run for public office, possibly mayor.

And I'm told that Grasso's enraged at Spitzer's resurrection, as the liberal media and left-wing documentarians paint him as a force for pure good during his days as AG over the pure evil that were his Wall Street targets (Grasso included).

First a few caveats. The Grasso-for-mayor notion is a longshot (Grasso, who didn't return a phone call, is known for playing practical jokes), and the Spitzer-for-mayor scenario is far from a layup.

The idea is that Spitzer, the son of a near-billionaire real-estate magnate, would run as as a self-financed independent, a la Mike Bloomberg. But he's got baggage that Bloomberg, for all his crass temperament, didn't have in 2001 -- starting with his record in state politics.

"Polarizing" doesn't capture the Spitzer effect: During his short stint as governor, he was widely despised even by many fellow Democrats as a bully, threatening or throwing temper tantrums at the slightest provocation. Who needs a tough-talking lightweight as mayor?

For the record, a CNN flack says Spitzer has "no plans" to run for mayor and "is happy doing the show." Yet Spitzer is clearly fantasizing about a run, I'm told by several prominent city Democrats.

His fantasies have been buttressed, I also hear, by his ego-inflating experience as a CNN host (despite its lousy ratings) and the favorable treatment he got in "Client 9," the documentary about his rise and fall, as well as in "Inside Job," the Oscar-winning documentary on the financial crisis.

Could Democrats take a chance on Spitzer? Or might they look elsewhere?

Indeed, is there a New York City Democrat more loathsome and contemptible than Spitzer waiting in the wings?

You betcha.

'Spitzer Thinks She's Holding Him Back'; Update: Parker Out

Obviously a major talent like Eliot Spitzer realizes there'd be no ceiling for him if it weren't for this faux conservative woman holding him back. That and the fact he works for low-rated CNN. And in that true gentlemanly fashion of his, he sneakily throws her under the steamroller.

Stay classy, Client No. 9

Eliot Spitzer is telling friends his CNN co-host Kathleen Parker "will be gone within a week." Relations between the ex-gov, who once called himself a "[bleep]ing steamroller," and his conservative co-host are at an all-time low. A source said, "Spitzer thinks she's holding him back. The ratings surged when she was out sick, and he anchored alone during the turmoil in Egypt. Only very few anchors have the power to wipe out a co-host, and Spitzer thinks he has it. CNN bosses are high on Spitzer, and he might get his own show. Kathleen has been weighing her options. There's this sense of dread among middle management." We've reported that Parker, a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, could be dumped due to lack of chemistry with Spitzer. But our source said, "She's putting up a fight."

Update: She's gone.

Kathleen Parker, the co-host of "Parker Spitzer," CNN's four-month-old, ratings-challenged primetime show, is being dropped from the program, according to sources inside the CNN newsroom. Eliot Spitzer, her co-host, will remain.

Maybe she can get a gig at Current TV.

Heh: Even Spitzer Questions CNN's Dubious SOTU Poll

The biggest joke the other night was some lame CBS poll that "reported" 92% gave Obama's plagiarized speech high marks. Meanwhile, over at CNN, the low-rated former john Eliot Spitzer questioned their dubious numbers.

Eliot Spitzer's CNN colleagues say he's trying to steamroll management. The "Parker Spitzer" co-host responded nastily to a mass e-mail from CNN's News Standards and Practices chief Rick Davis that offered guidance on how to report a poll on reaction to the State of the Union address. Shortly before the poll results aired Tuesday night, Davis advised CNN personnel to preface them with the expectation that there would be a positive reaction because more Democrats tend to watch a speech by a Democratic president than Republicans. But after the poll aired, Spitzer shot back in his own mass e-mail, "This poll is totally misleading and should not be aired as one who has studied these polls I woukd [sic] be embarassed to put these numbers on the air."

The poll released Tuesday night was given a misleading headline that 84% approved of the speech, but that combined 52% who were positive and 32% who were somewhat positive. That makes sense if you consider the sample.

The sample of speech-watchers in the poll were 39 percent Democratic and 19 percent Republican. Those numbers indicate that the sample is about nine to ten points more Democratic than the population as a whole. The audience for Obama's State of the Union address last year was 38 percent Democratic and 25 percent Republican.

So in CNN's universe, Democrats now outnumber Republicans by an even greater margin even though the country has gone in the opposite direction. You have to give Spitzer credit for seeing through the nonsense.

Yet this is a great example how the media just manufactures and makes up the news. Before anyone could digest the speech headlines blared around the world how either 92% or 84% of the public liked the speech.

Another Rave Review for Parker Spitzer: 'Numbing and Tedious'

Looks like the CNN trainwreck "Parker Spitzer" isn't going over well with a former, um, business associate of Client Number 9.

Kristen Davis wants Eliot Spitzer to put a black sock in it. The Manhattan Madam, who provided the former governor with prostitutes, said his new CNN show, "Parker Spitzer," is unbearable. "The overall reports from the women who used to work for me said being with him was numbing and tedious," Davis told us. "I felt that way about the show." Davis criticized CNN for giving Spitzer a platform to give others advice: "In the first 10 seconds, he tells Obama to fire Tim Geithner -- who is he to tell the president how to run the country when he couldn't get through four years as governor?" Davis said his smile is "actually scary, appropriate for Halloween. Whoever advised him to smile like that should be fired."

'The Fact This Guy Now is Going to Tell America How to Function After What He Did to New York is a Disgrace'

Three days after firing bigot Rick Sanchez, CNN tonight rolls out another disgrace, Eliot Spitzer. According to CNN employee Howie Kurtz, Spitzer's show with pretend conservative Kathleen Parker will be a civil chat, about the "shoutfests" the rest of knuckle-dragging America so enjoys.

This who know the real Spitzer aren't impressed.

Then there was the Spitzer who promised a new ethical day in Albany and yet tried to cover up his and his staff's role in trying to smear a political foe by misusing the state police.

And there was the Spitzer with the political tin ear.

The self-proclaimed "steamroller," who waged an early battle with the Legislature over the selection of a new controller, even though he had no formal role in the process of picking the person who would audit the executive branch. It wound up costing him his needed Democratic support and torpedoing his agenda.

And then there was the Spitzer who made national headlines for weeks when he proposed granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. At one point, he actually managed to alienate his strongest supporters by floating a compromise that they hated while doing nothing to appease critics.

The controversy not only raged for weeks until he backed off the plan, but also led to Hillary Clinton's first big gaffe on the presidential campaign trail when she fumbled for an answer when asked about the proposal during a Democratic debate.

By the time the hooker scandal forced him from office in March 2008, his poll numbers were down, he had no friends left in the Legislature, his administration was under investigation and he broke his key campaign promise that on day one, everything in dysfunctional Albany would change.

"He was not a good governor, he didn't get anything accomplished and he created chaos - otherwise he was fine," said veteran Democratic political consultant Hank Sheinkopf.

"The fact this guy now is going to tell America how to function after what he did to New York is a disgrace."

Look at the bright side. There won't be many people watching.

Spitzer on Cuomo: 'He is the Dirtiest, Nastiest Political Player Out There'

Coming from a lowlife like Eliot Spitzer I don't know if this is a cheap shot or a compliment.

"Well, what he needs to do is speak to the public and, of course, 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. When his father was governor, he was the tough guy. He has brass knuckles and he played hard ball. He has a lot of enemies out there. Nobody's been willing to stand up to him. When it appeared he was going to win, it was inevitable. If it appears not to be inevitable, things may change. He has a lot of folks, he's really been on the wrong side of who may stand up and say, wait a minute, he may not want to pretend he plays that game. He does, and he's worse at it."

It's Official: Client No. 9 Now on at 8

It's official. Disgraced former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer and faux conservative Kathleen Parker will be hosting a CNN program.

Former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer and 2010 Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Kathleen Parker will co-host a new hour long CNN primetime news program starting in the fall as the nation prepares for the 2010 midterm election, the network announced Wednesday morning.

The yet-to-be-named “roundtable discussion” program will air at 8 p.m. ET replacing Campbell Brown.

“Other cable news channels force-feed viewers one narrow, predictable point of view; in contrast, CNN will be offering a lively roundup of all the best ideas – presented by two of the most intelligent and outspoken figures in the country,” Jon Klein, president of CNN/U.S., said in a statement released by the network. “Eliot and Kathleen are beholden to no vested interest – in fact, quite the opposite: they are renowned for taking on the most powerful targets and most important causes.”

Indeed, Spitzer has no narrow or vested interest, except for the Democratic Party.

I give this hot mess six months tops.

CNN FInds a 'Conservative' to Pair With Eliot Spitzer

The right kind of conservative, of course, one who spends her time bashing the right.

Eliot Spitzer has found a new woman.

Conservative columnist Kathleen Parker is the "leading candidate" to share a new 8 p.m. show on CNN with the former governor, according to sources close to the talks.

Parker, 58, is probably best known for a column she wrote in September, 2008 calling Sarah Palin "out of her league" and urging her to get off the Republican ticket.

The show -- which will air opposite Bill O'Reilly's ratings juggernaut show on Fox News Channel -- will be an updated version of CNN's old "Crossfire" program.

It reportedly will feature a liberal -- that would be Spitzer -- and a conservative -- Parker -- butting heads on political issues.

CNN declined to comment yesterday.

"I've been talking to [CNN], but there's nothing to report," Parker told The Post.

The columnist says she's met Spitzer, but refused to give any details.

"Not at the Mayflower Hotel, I can tell you that much," she said. "I'm a reporter, but I'm a discreet one."

The new show, which does not have a name or a debut date yet, will replace Campbell Brown, who stepped down last month saying her ratings were "not where I would like them to be."

CNN's primetime line-up is in the midst of a major overhaul, after sinking to No. 3 behind Fox News and MSNBC in recent years.

Hot Air and Ace link. Thanks!

Pathetic: Client No. 9 To Get Prime CNN Gig?

You've got to be kidding me. Does CNN really think anyone is going to tune in to see the disgraced Eliot Spitzer? Not only that, Spitzer isn't the only two-bit fraud about to land a prime gig at the low-rated cable outlet.

Ted Turner must be flinging his remote at the wall in despair. CNN, the cable network he founded, is poised to turn its prime-time schedule over to two disgraced public figures, ex-Gov. Eliot Spitzer and former British tabloid editor Piers Morgan, in its desperate bid to restore lost ratings.

Hooker-loving Spitzer is thisclose to a deal to co-host an 8 p.m. talk show, sources said. Morgan -- a former editor of Britain's Daily Mirror being groomed to replace Larry King -- was caught up in a scandal in 2000 after he bought shares in a company before his paper touted them as good buys. He quit in 2004 after printing fake photos of Iraqi prisoners being tortured by British soldiers.

A source said, "CNN is so desperate, they're totally abandoning Turner's original vision of impartial reporting. With talent like Spitzer on board, the people hosting the news will be more controversial than any guests they could book."

The Post's Michael Shain reports Spitzer has "all but a done deal" to get a co-host spot at 8 p.m., previously occupied by Campbell Brown, whose ratings had plunged. Spitzer will become half of a talking-head duo on a show fashioned after "Crossfire," which CNN canceled in 2005. CNN is searching for a conservative partner for Spitzer, who'll go head-to-head with Fox's Bill O'Reilly in the time slot, before announcing the new show.

Head-to-head with O'Reilly? Wishful thinking. Spitzer would be lucky to get without shouting distance of Olberdork on MSNBC at that time.

As to Piers Morgan, here's a look at that douchebag after he told everyone what a klutz Bush was for falling off a Segway.

What Led to Spitzer's Downfall? Stupidity, Of Course

Well, that and his penchant for hookers, which brought him to some curious wire transfers that tipped off the feds. Hey, maybe he can blame Bush now.

A previously undisclosed document reveals in new detail today how the state's hooker happy ex-governor, Eliot Spitzer, sowed the seeds of his own downfall with a suspicious bank transaction.

The countdown to Spitzer's eventual March 2008 resignation amid charges he had patronized a high-priced prostitute began more than six months earlier when he asked his Manhattan bank to strip his name and account ID from a $5,000 wire transfer to a shell company, The Albany Times Union reported.

Granting the Aug. 6, 2007, request would have violated federal anti-money laundering regulations.

Instead, the banking branch -- then known as North Fork Bank -- rejected the request by Spitzer's private banker, Adam Brenner, and filed a suspicious activity report with federal authorities, according to the newspaper, which obtained a copy of the five-page document.

"In response, Mr. Brenner pointed out that a prior transaction in the amount of $10,000 had previously been processed similarly on July 11, 2007, between these same parties," the bank's SAR states.

"The August 6th wire transfer was denied and later processed as an internal bank transfer between the two clients' accounts."

The firm slated to receive the funds turned out to be, QAT Consulting Group, a front company run by Cecil G. Suwal, hooker booker for Emperors Club.

Months later, the feds filed an indictment that charged managers of the elite escort service and identified Spitzer by his now infamous moniker "Client 9."

"Mr. Brenner reported that he spoke directly with the customer, Mr. Spitzer, who advised that the purpose of the transfer to QAT was to pay a personal expense," the report states.

"Mr. Brenner further stated that the customer did not wish to elaborate, however did state that he is sensitive to the bank's position and going forward will transfer funds through the proper channels."

Spitzer was not prosecuted in the case -- even though his transactions involved interstate fund transfers and hookers who crossed state lines to have sex with him.

You'd think a supposedly brihgt guy like Spitzer would follow Rule No. 1 when it comes to hookers: Always pay cash.

'It's Going To Be an Obama-Spitzer Ticket Someday'

Well now, wouldn't this have been fun.

An entertaining -- but slightly improbable -- bit in Peter Elkind's "Rough Justice" purports to have Democratic strategist and Barack Obama best friend David Axelrod talking up the idea of an "Obama-Spitzer ticket" at one point.

This was supposedly in 2006, and Spitzer -- presumably the source for the information - had a private coffee with Obama as he made a stop in New York as he was weighing a challenge to Hillary Rodham Clinton for the presidency.

According to Elkind, "David Axelrod, the political consultant who had advised both men, once told the AG: 'It's going to be an Obama-Spitzer ticket someday.' "

Unless Axelrod said it as a joke at one point, it's tough to imagine he was truly suggesting the hard-charging Spitzer as a runningmate for Obama, a candidate about whom he felt different than any other he's ever worked with.

Among many problems with the anecdote, Spitzer embodies some of the same qualities that once prompted someone to say about Rudy Giuliani something along the lines of: "Anybody who names Rudy Giuliani vice-anything ought to get a food taster."

Safe to say Spitzer fell off the radar once he was caught with his pants down in March 2008. Besides, I doubt someone as humble as Obama could handle having an egomaniac like Spitzer on the same ticket.

'You Must Be Superman!'

Some newly-found respect for Eliot Spitzer? Well, at least he can man up, so to speak.

Disgraced ex-Gov. Eliot Spitzer once went on a hooker binge, ordering three prostitutes for separate interludes on a single day, an explosive new book says.

The Peter Elkind book, "Rough Justice: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer" -- not yet officially on sale but obtained by The Post -- reveals Spitzer's shocking frenzy while using the Emperors Club VIP.

Elkind chronicles the time "George Fox" -- Spitzer's alias -- booked an appointment at the Mark Hotel on the Upper East Side, a five-minute walk from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

"As usual, he paid the girl in cash -- about $1,200 an hour. Not long after it was over, he called [the booker] back, wanting to see a second escort. 'Who else is around?' he asked. [The booker] made the arrangements. "Then, late that afternoon, [Spitzer] called again. 'You're going to think I'm crazy,' he began. 'But can you send somebody else right now?'

"He wanted a third girl? The booker chuckled: 'You must be Superman! [The booker] found him another girl."

The book also unveils the shame of Spitzer's wife, Silda. "On some level, this is my fault," Lloyd Constantine, Spitzer's onetime pal, claimed Silda told him. "The wife is supposed to take care of the sex . . . I wasn't adequate."

Seriously, why his wife stays around remains a mystery. Especially if she's around after reading the papers today.

Spitzer Spent More Than $100,000 on Hookers

Sure, by all means, get back into politics, Eliot. You seem frugal compared with the rest of the Democrats and their spending binges.

Hooker-happy former Gov. Eliot Spitzer was using the services of the Emperors Club escort service starting in early 2006 -- when he was still state attorney general -- and doled out $100,000 on the firm's call girls, according to an upcoming Fortune magazine excerpt from Peter Elkind's "Rough Justice."

"He had been a customer of the Emperors Club for at least two full years and spent more than $100,000 on more than 20 appointments with perhaps 10 escorts in New York City, Washington, Dallas, Palm Beach and San Juan," Elkind, a Fortune editor-at-large, writes in the book.

The tome, excerpted in Fortune editions on sale Monday, claims Spitzer became an Emperors regular by mid-2007, but started using its services far earlier. He would pay extra to allow for flexibility on his schedule and rush in and out without any guards.

" 'He practically attacked me when he walked in the door,' one escort told her phone booker afterward. 'He was just ready,' " the book states.

Spitzer had several flings with an escort Elkind dubs "Angelina," who wasn't a fan of his approach. "It was very businesslike," Angelina told Elkind. "He was not one of those people who I would have said went out of their way to make me feel lovely and nice, like many did. It was very impersonal." The next time, she met [Spitzer] at the Waldorf-Astoria. "It was late at night. He rushed into the room with a baseball cap on, clearly trying not to be recognized, and wanting to get right to it," Elkind reports.

Wanted to get his money's worth, I guess.

Paterson: Hey, Let's Give Client No. 9 a Second Chance

This coming from a guy who boasts about putting a former drug dealer into a position of power only to see it blow up in his face when his aide was accused of beating his girlfriend. With such a track record of sound judgment, who are we to argue with him?

Gov. Paterson said his hooker-happy predecessor Eliot Spitzer deserves a shot at a comeback, just like the aides with checkered pasts Paterson prides himself on hiring.

"I've dedicated myself to hiring people who have had infractions when they were younger but had talent," Paterson said Sunday on Kiss-FM's "The Open Line" when asked about a possible Spitzer political return.

"I hope the same standard will be extended to Gov. Spitzer, who had tremendous talent and I hope will be able to exercise it."

Paterson famously gave a second chance to ex-aide David Johnson, who rose to become one of the governor's most trusted advisers despite arrests on felony drug charges as a teenager.

Paterson was forced to abandon his election campaign over accusations he interfered in a case involving Johnson's alleged assault of his girlfriend last October. Paterson has acknowledged speaking with the woman by phone.

Of course if Spitzer doesn't re-enter politics, he's always got a budding career at MSNBC ready to roll. Let's face it, he couldn't possible do any worse than any of their current lineup over there.

MSNBC Really Hard Up for Talent

I guess when your network doesn't have any ratings you're pretty much willing to put anyone on the air.

Lights, camera ... Spitzer?

After years of being interviewed about his political successes - and glaring failures - Eliot Spitzer was on the other side of the microphone on Thursday.

Spitzer surprised regular MSNBC viewers who tuned into "The Dylan Ratigan Show" - and instead saw the former governor filling in as the guest host.

"Eliot has been a frequent guest on Dylan's show and has provided our viewers with terrific insight into the financial crisis. With Dylan off today, it was the perfect opportunity to have him co-host the hour," said MSNBC spokesman Jeremy Gaines.

Spitzer was forced out of office by a prostitution scandal less than two years after taking office.

The Democrat who won the 2006 governor's race in a landslide said in a recent interview he feels "unceasing agony" about not being "where [he] would like to be" - that being finishing up his first term as governor.

Spitzer quizzed his guests on everything from the Wall Street bailouts to the future of the Republican party.

Some addressed Spitzer, who wore a pinstriped suit and blue tie, as "Eliot," while others stuck with "Governor."

Posing a question about the Southern Republican Leadership Conference, Spitzer asked, "Isn't this just the minor leagues showing up at this thing? You know, the big guns are holding their fire, saying, 'We don't want to go near the crazies that the Tea Party represents anymore?"

That got a laugh out of the Washington Post's Jonathan Capeheart: "That's an interesting way to put that question," he chuckled.

Spitzer obviously fits right in with the far-left kooks over there with his sneering condescension towards tea partiers.

Thanks to Hot Air for the link.

Great News: Eliot Spitzer Contemplating Return to Politics

Even more surreal, he's considering a run for office this year. Good thing the Democrat primary for dog catcher is still a couple months away.

For the first time, Eliot Spitzer is acknowledging what The Post first reported last year -- that he is itching for a way back into politics and, even at this late date, hasn't totally closed the door on a race this year.

And for the first time, he is acknowledging what he did to his wife, Silda, who stood by him amid a scandal involving a high-priced call girl that ended his term as governor less than 18 months after it began on a wave of hope and promise.

He goes further than he has in the past two years since the scandal broke in taking personal responsibility not just for what he did to the state, but for what he did to his family, in a excerpts of an interview posted just now by Fortune magazine on its website.

"I made an egregiously horrendous judgment at every level," he tells Peter Elkind, who has an upcoming book "Rough Justice: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer." "Not just in terms of the risk/reward calculus, which seems like a very antiseptic way of thinking about it, but also in terms of what it meant to my family. I talk all the time about fiduciary duty. What more fundamental duty is there than to a spouse?"

The disgraced ex-governor also acknowledges in the interview, which will run in full next week in Fortune magazine, that he has toyed with the idea of a comeback.

"I love politics," Spitzer told Elkind, according to excerpts of their March 31 interview. "The substance, the debate about the issues ..."

Asked specifically about some kind of statewide race in 2010 -- which The Post reported exclusively last year that Spitzer was talking to people about -- Spitzer said it's "just hard to see."

But he added, "I've never said I would never consider running for office again."

He told Elkind that his column for the online magazine Slate, among other recent endeavors, are part of an easier life that he loves.

But, according to the excerpts, he said he's "in unceasing agony" and is "incredibly frustrated" over no longer being "where I would like to be" -- finishing his first term as governor of New York. "Anybody who says disengaging from it in any way is easy is not being straightforward," he says. "Obviously, removing myself the way I did is that much more painful."

The excerpt adds, "Spitzer muses with friends and advisers about political targets. He views New York's U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand as a lightweight. In the office of New York state comptroller, he sees a chance to become a national force, wielding the billions held in public pension funds to force corporate reform in a way that even lawsuits and regulation cannot. ('It is the great underutilized position in government right now,' says Spitzer.)"

Oh sure, let's give this sleazebag control of the state cash register. What could possibly go wrong?

'He Enjoys Partying -- That's Nice!'

Want to know how the accidental governor David Paterson wound up where he is? Because Eliot Spitzer's aides were apparently so clueless they have no idea what the term "hard partier" means.

When Eliot Spitzer's top aides were mulling David Paterson as a potential running mate in the winter of 2005, two people who knew him cautioned that the Albany veteran was a "hard partier."

They were referring to Paterson's extramarital dalliances, past drug use and penchant for late-night clubbing. But Spitzer's people didn't get the message.

"We didn't know what 'hard partying' even meant," a former top Spitzer aide confessed to The Post. "Our idea of fun is to go exercise. The thinking was, 'He enjoys partying -- that's nice!' "

The warnings about the then-Senate minority leader were never even passed on to Spitzer, since they seemed beside the point.

"We didn't understand that it meant women or that it was in any way inappropriate. We didn't understand the lifestyle going on there."

It was just one of a comedy of errors that led to Paterson becoming New York's accidental governor and that has now left the state government in disarray as he struggles to survive a host of scandals.

'It's the Stupidity That Brings People Down'

One of life's great mysteries has finally been resolved. Eliot Spitzer didn't wear black socks while he was shtupping his hookers.

Hooker-happy former Gov. Eliot Spitzer put to rest one lingering question from the scandal that ended his governorship: he did not wear socks while doing it.

In an extended interview on bigthink.com, Spitzer laughed and said "no" when asked about reports he wore black socks while patronizing his prostitutes.

Nearly two years removed from office, Spitzer was much more sober when discussing the impact the scandal had on himself and his family.

He said "recognizing the pain I've caused to my family...is a heavy burden to carry, as it should be."

"The sense that I have let down not only my family but friends, colleagues, the voters who had asked me to do a certain type of job.

"I desperately wanted to do that job, to do it well. I think we were trying...But I let them down and that is a very heavy burden to carry."

Meanwhile, the love guv also has some advice for Tiger Woods. How sporting of him.

What I've tried to do is look within," he said. "That is where one must ultimately find one's sense of self and purpose. That's all one can do."

As for the lessons other public officials can learn from his meteoric rise and fall, Spitzer said: "when you know something is stupid, don't do it."

He described it as a combination of "entitlement", "hubris" and "adrenaline" that causes some people to self-implode.

"It's the stupidity that brings people down," he said.

Please, Just Go Away

It's not as if there some groundswell for this man to run for office again. Considering the obstacles Democrats face in 2010, having him on the ticket could just add to their woes, even if it's a solidly blue state. Not only that, but he may possible even challenge the incumbent Democrat.

Just. Go. Away.

Eliot Spitzer, who stepped down from the governor's office amid scandal, is now strongly considering a run for state comptroller, sources told The Post.

Spitzer has in recent weeks had discussions with some Democratic donors and insiders about the position currently held by Tom DiNapoli.

DiNapoli, a former assemblyman from Long Island, was appointed comptroller in 2007 after his predecessor, Alan Hevesi, pleaded guilty to using state workers as chauffeurs for his wife.

A Democrat who spoke with Spitzer said, "He's seriously thinking about it."

"He wants to run if he can," said another source. "He's still talking about it."

It's unclear whether a Spitzer candidacy would rely on a Democratic donor base, or if the former governor -- whose family is wealthy -- is thinking of pouring his own dough into a campaign.

It is also unclear if he would challenge DiNapoli in a primary, or if he's considering running as an independent.

So you have a guy driven from office mired in scandal seeking to replace a man who's in office only because another Democrat was driven from office mired in scandal.

Only in New York, kids.