In a development that should surprise absolutely no one -- honestly, Elwood Blues could see this one coming, in the dark and wearing sunglasses -- New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has marshaled his troops and declared his intent to capture the New York State governor's mansion in 2006.
Mr. Spitzer gained fame, as well as no small amount of criticism, for his crusading attacks on corporate wrongdoers, both perceived and actual -- Janus (NYSE:JNS), Bank One, and Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) last year; Marsh & McLennan (NYSE:MMC), American International Group (NYSE:AIG), and Aon (NYSE:AOC) more recently -- large and small (Jos. A. Bank (NASDAQ:JOSB)). Now he aims to use his fame (or notoriety -- which term you use depends in large part on how many zeros make up your net worth and whether you arrive at work by subway or chauffeured car) to campaign for higher office.
Why declare now? Well, I doubt you'll hear this view anywhere but here. But because we're here not just to educate and enrich, but to also amuse, here's my take on Mr. Spitzer's timing.
To win a major political post such as governor of New York, a candidate needs two things in abundance: name recognition and money. Thanks to the high-profile prosecutions he has sponsored, Mr. Spitzer has name recognition in spades. But as for money, well, his fans don't have a whole lot to give. After all, for the most part, the people who have benefited from Mr. Spitzer's legal initiatives are the legions of small mutual fund investors who had their money stolen by unscrupulous fund managers. And by definition, money that's been swiped is money they don't have to donate to Mr. Spitzer's campaign.
So who's left? Corporate sponsors, of course. Except that Mr. Spitzer has been suing most everybody with an "Inc.", "Co.," or "Corp." after its name. So with the election now less than two years away, Mr. Spitzer needs to start lining up corporate sponsorship. The longer he waits, the harder it will be to find a potential sponsor whom he hasn't already sued.
Read about Mr. Spitzer's exploits in the following articles, which are just a few of the scores of stories on the subject you can find on Fool.com:
- Spitzer Helps Loan Sharks
- Spitzer Pumps Up the Volume
- Jos. A. Bank's (Law) Suit
- Will Lawsuit Hurt Express Scripts?
- Spitzer Eyes Insurance
Fool contributor Rich Smith owns no shares in any company mentioned in this article.
