The man who once called himself “a f---ing bulldozer” effectively cleared the rubble of his shattered political career yesterday, resigning from his post as governor of the State of New York. The rise of Eliot Spitzer was swift and the fall equally tragic as New Yorkers bode farewell to a man who promised them so much and then cruelly betrayed them at the end.

Betrayal it was, plain and simple. There is no other way to look at the fact that a man who came in promising to fight corruption, who had proudly broken up prostitution rings, who encouraged Nick Kristof just a few months ago to write about his anti-trafficking laws, would so wholly disrespect his constituents by breaking the same laws he sought to fight against.

It’s not like we didn’t know ol’ Eliot was a bit of a jerk. When The Spitzer Show came to Cornell in September 2006 it was plain to see that the soon-to-be governor had some personality issues. In the debate here against Republican John Faso, Spitzer repeatedly displayed his arrogance by constantly repeating the phrase, “What I think is what I say, and what I say is what I do.” The phrase was so laced with conceit it was hard to take him seriously.

After taking almost seventy percent of the vote in the ensuing election, Governor Spitzer’s arrogance showed its ugly face again in the state legislature where he clashed even with those in his own party. When his pick to replace Alan Hevesi (the corrupt Comptroller whom Spitzer once called “honest and dedicated”) was shot down, Spitzer criticized some of his fellow Democrats and even made trips to their own districts to do so!

That apparently wasn’t enough for Spitzer who saw the need to make enemies with the Republicans as well. This past July, his administration was found to have used state troopers to spy on State Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno (R-Saratoga Springs).

Despite all this, nobody could have been prepared for what happened this week. There is indeed a state of shock and mourning across the state today as we process the aftermath of this great fall. Assemblymen Richard Brodsky told the New York Times yesterday that “it has something in the air of a death in the family” conveying well the feelings of many Democrats and New Yorkers.

There is also a great deal of anger. This anger comes from people like Congressman Pete King, who heavily criticized Spitzer and called for his resignation early on. “Prostitution rings are invariably linked to organized crime,” King said of Spitzer’s involvement in ‘Emperors Club VIP.’

“He knows that as a former prosecutor, as a former attorney general, as a governor.” Not only that, said King, but Spitzer knew he could have been blackmailed due to his position and therefore put the whole state at risk.

In the face of certain impeachment, Spitzer stepped down. He left in complete disgrace, certain that his fellow Democrats would side with Republicans in the case against him.

And so, in steps “The Wheelbarrow,” former Lt. Governor David Patterson, a man who is both legally blind and African American. His lack of sight will make him our nations first blind Governor, his color our state’s first African American to hold the post. Patterson is widely known as a conciliator and was portrayed by Time magazine as a man with “a mellow voice, humor and self-deprecation.” Citing a speech he made in at a recent gala, Time quoted Patterson as saying, “I’ll tell you what the lieutenant governor’s job is. You wake up every morning at 6:30 and you call the governor’s house. If he answers, you can go back to sleep.” This persona seems to be exactly what the state needs after the tumultuous reign of the dictatorial Spitzer. The state is looking for a healer, someone low on arrogance and high on affability. From the way it looks today, it seems as if we got exactly that.

Will this spill over into national politics? You bet it will (thank you Isaac Kramnick) as our nation will once again be bombarded with images of the Monica Lewinsky scandal, leading us to shudder at the possibility of another Clinton administration.

It doesn’t stop there either; we’ll also see how easy it is for things to spiral out of control for a politician who is more concerned about implementing policy than making friends. It’s not that friends are more important but that without them, you’ll never get anything done. The key is to find a delicate balance. Eliot Spitzer did not and that’s part of the reason why he’s out of a job today.

There is no doubt in my mind that this lesson will resonate not only with the voters of neighboring Pennsylvania but in the minds of the superdelegates as well. Hillary Clinton is unquestionably abrasive with a bulldozer mentality quite like Spitzer’s. However sad it is, that link will likely be an influencing factor in the run-up to the convention. That linkage may be just enough to give Obama the tiny margin he needs to seal this nomination up.

As New York mourns Barack Obama likely rejoices. Should he win the Oval Office he may have Spitzer to thank. Talk about irony ...

Alex Kantrowitz is a sophomore in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. He is a contributing columnist and can be contacted at akantrowitz@cornellsun.com.