INSTANT VIEW: NY Gov. Spitzer resigns after sex scandal
NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, a pugnacious former prosecutor who built a career on pursuing financial and organized crime with a tone of moral rectitude, resigned on Wednesday after being embroiled in a prostitution scandal.
Here is reaction to his announcement, which was shown live by several television networks:
MICHAEL METZ, CHIEF INVESTMENT STRATEGIST, OPPENHEIMER &
CO. IN NEW YORK
"It's a great personal tragedy ... To read anything more into it as far as an impact on the market is ridiculous."
"He was the great avenger. He was standing for the little people ... Wall Street is enjoying he got his comeuppance."
"Of all the people that I can think of in the political arena, he's been the one who has exacted the greatest toll on Wall Street in the shortest amount of time."
THOMAS DINAPOLI, DEMOCRATIC STATE COMPTROLLER
"The public trust has been violated yet again. Everyone in public office must work to repair that trust and restore the people's confidence in government."
MALCOLM SMITH, SENATE DEMOCRATIC MINORITY LEADER
"The governor's resignation is appropriate. Eliot Spitzer has to take care of his family now and we must move forward and continue to govern and serve the 19 million people of this state."
JOSEPH BRUNO, REPUBLICAN SENATE MAJORITY LEADER
"We have a terribly unfortunate circumstance that exists. People have to deal with their own lives."
"This has been a distraction of proportion we have never seen."
"We are moving forward, we are going to move forward with this budget in a timely way."
GREGORY SALVAGGIO, VICE PRESIDENT OF TRADING, TEMPUS
CONSULTING IN WASHINGTON
"For a bit we had someone faring worse than the U.S. dollar, and that's not a small feat."
"The whole issue was shocking and it really caught people's and Wall Street's full attention. We were all glued to our televisions at the time he resigned and I'm sure volumes dipped across the board at that very moment."
"Now, it's back to trading."
JOSEPH MONDELLO, REPUBLICAN STATE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN
"Governor Eliot Spitzer's resignation brings to an end an administration that will always be remembered for its unfulfilled promise."
"The Governor not only betrayed the trust of his wife and children, he shattered the already fragile hopes of those New Yorkers who, little more than a year ago, had given him an overwhelming mandate to govern."
"Today, Governor Spitzer took the only course that his reckless and personally destructive behavior left him."
DOUGLAS MUZZIO, PROFESSOR OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, BARUCH
COLLEGE IN NEW YORK
"Everybody is still in a state of shock. The tragic elements of this are almost in the Greek tragedy sense, of character flaw and hubris."
"It is likely to reinforce the already existing cynicism out there that they (politicians) all do it, that they all deceive and lie."
"He was an icon, a model of integrity, an enforcer of public and private morality and then you've got this utter hypocrisy. You can't help but be disillusioned."
"It's sad both personally for his family and it's sad for the state of New York, particularly the near 70 percent of the population that voted for him."
ANDREW RICHMAN, FIXED INCOME STRATEGIST, SUNTRUST IN
ATLANTA
"It's a big story but I don't think it's as big an impact as some people have made it out to be."
"Other people are involved in the bond insurance industry in addition to Eliot Spitzer. There are other issues like capitalization which didn't involve him."
EDWARD BRETSCHGER, DIRECTOR OF EQUITY SALES AND TRADING,
CALYON SECURITIES IN NEW YORK
"It's obviously the topic du jour -- you can hear it being talked about at lunches and dinners."
"He's had such a big impact on Wall Street over the past decade that desks are following this story like it's Anna Nicole Smith or O.J. Simpson in the courtroom."
"With all the giddiness on the street over the turn of events, we may just get a Spitzer rally."
SHELDON SILVER, NEW YORK DEMOCRATIC ASSEMBLY SPEAKER
"I think we can reflect on some of the accomplishments in the short time Eliot Spitzer was the governor."
"I think we did a historic workers comp (compensation) reform that will go down, clearly, as one of the major accomplishments of the Spitzer administration."
JON CORZINE, GOVERNOR OF NEW JERSEY
"I think this is an issue of personal mistake, personal judgment and I don't think it is reflective of a Democratic or Republican issue."
"Unfortunately, we have seen human beings from all walks of life who cross boundaries that are not acceptable and are tragic in their own lives."
"I think this is more about the tragedy of an individual, and a very capable one. Of anyone I have ever met, I have never seen an individual who has the kind of capacity to do well with their life as Governor Spitzer."
(Editing by John O'Callaghan, World Desk Americas, +1 202 898 8457)
