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Spitzer scandal may hurt Clinton campaign

BY GLENN THRUSH | glenn.thrush@newsday.com

March 12, 2008

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WASHINGTON - To the outside world, they were home state allies, but Hillary Rodham Clinton and Gov. Eliot Spitzer couldn't even agree on the details of his begrudging endorsement of her presidential bid in May 2007.

Spitzer initially resisted Clinton's request he endorse her on the steps of the state Capitol because he harbored "hard feelings" over her refusal to back him during his 2006 gubernatorial primary, according to one Spitzer adviser.

Eventually, Spitzer relented and praised the former first lady's "charisma, courage and guts" during a sun-dappled news conference in Albany.

The Clinton-Spitzer relationship has been chilly for months, but the governor's sex scandal is drawing in the former first lady. Spitzer's infidelity with a high-priced call girl is evoking comparisons to the Bill Clinton-Monica Lewinsky affair, with cable networks re-broadcasting images from the 1990s imbroglio round-the-clock.

And that's put Clinton's campaign on the defensive at a time when it has been regaining its footing against Barack Obama. Asked if Spitzer's fall would hurt Clinton, her spokesman Howard Wolfson offered a two-word reply: "It doesn't."

With the exception of a brief appearance on a Clinton conference call two weeks ago -- to announce his cancellation at an economic summit hosted by Clinton in Ohio, Spitzer has played virtually no role in the campaign by mutual consent. Lt. Gov. David Paterson, on the other hand, has been a fixture on the trail, appearing with Clinton in Ohio, South Carolina and New York.

Wolfson said Clinton's staff was sympathetic to Spitzer's plight and sad at the toll on his family. But many Clinton backers hold the governor responsible for precipitating her fall in the polls by proposing his plan to grant driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants, which she reluctantly supported.

Clinton, citing loyalty to Spitzer, fumbled a question about the plan during a disastrous October 2007 debate in Philadelphia -- an event many in her camp believe sparked Obama's surge.

In the days leading up to the debate, Clinton's brain trust made it known they wanted Spitzer to drop the plan. He eventually did but only after the damage was done to Clinton. "It would have been nice if he had helped us out," said a Clinton aide on condition of anonymity.

"That's where the animosity comes from," said New York political consultant Hank Sheinkopf, who helped run Spitzer's successful 1998 campaign for attorney general. "The Clintonites in New York State were very upset with the governor because he saddled her with that. They think her downturn began when she flubbed that answer."

Clinton is not pressuring Spitzer to step down, according to her campaign. But Long Island Rep. Steve Israel is demanding he make a fast decision about his political future, in a sign of growing impatience with Spitzer among New York Democrats.

"I'm obviously shocked and saddened [by Spitzer's behavior]," said Israel (D-Huntington) in a statement yesterday. "It has become increasingly clear that Governor Spitzer violated the trust of so many New Yorkers. This matter must be resolved in a timely fashion so that leaders in Albany can return to the people's business."

Upstate Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand went further, saying "the governor will have no choice but to resign" if the allegations against him were proven true.

Staff writer Kristen M. Daum contributed to this story.