Crusader Spitzer Declared War On Wall Street, Guns, Business

Elliot Spitzer wasn't just a loathing crusader on his own against entities he thought were evil, such as Wall Street, the firearms industry, the music industry and more.

He had help.

"What the media never acknowledged is that somewhere along the line (say, his first day in public office) Mr. Spitzer became the big guy, the titan. He had the power to trample lives and bend the rules, while also burnishing his own political fortune. He was the one who deserved as much, if not more, scrutiny as onetime New York Stock Exchange chief Dick Grasso or former American International Group CEO Maurice "Hank" Greenberg.

"What makes this more embarrassing for any self-respecting journalist is that Mr. Spitzer knew all this, and played the media like a Stradivarius. He knew what sort of storyline they'd be sympathetic to, and spun it. He knew, too, that as financial journalism has become more competitive, breaking news can make a career. He doled out scoops to favored reporters, who repaid him with allegiance. News organizations that dared to criticize him were cut off. After a time, few criticized anymore."

In a related story, National Review Online notes that as part of his strategy to kill the firearms industry (he didn't), he joined big-city mayors in a suits to have guns classified as "nuisances." The strategy failed miserably.

Note: A final bit of kismet, I guess you could call it. I find it incredibly revealing that the man who thought he was above it all was taken down by a service called, yes, "The Emporer's Club." Need I say more?