Eliot Spitzer

Eliot Spitzer

35 quotes

Eliot Spitzer, a Governor of New York from 2007 to 2008, has become one of the most frequently quoted voices on subjects that matter. Eliot Spitzer's observations on Politics are as sharp as their thoughts on Government, revealing genuine breadth of mind. 47 of Eliot Spitzer's sharpest quotes live here, spanning themes of Politics, Government, Society, Change, and Science. Start here and see if you agree: "A year is an eternity in politics - though less than a moment in history."

“As someone with a deep faith in competition and the market, I also know that markets only work with tough enforcement of the rules that guarantee competition and fair play - and that the pressure to break those rules only gets stronger as the amount of money involved gets larger.”

— Eliot Spitzer

Faith

All Quotes by Eliot Spitzer

“President Obama is doing the right thing by offering young immigrants, most often in this country through no action of their own, a chance to live and work openly, free from the fear of deportation.”

— Eliot Spitzer

Fear

“For me, journalism has been more a matter of projecting a particular approach to covering policies, to covering issues. It was a continuation of what I tried to do in government.”

— Eliot Spitzer

Government

“Technology is neutral: It convicts and finds innocents. We must make it a regularized part of the system, giving defendants access to DNA testing and evidence whenever it might be relevant.”

— Eliot Spitzer

Technology

“From those to whom much is given, much is expected. I have been given much - the love of my family, the faith and trust of the people of New York, and the chance to lead this state. I am deeply sorry that I did not live up to what was expected of me.”

— Eliot Spitzer

Faith

“I have long said there are three distinct groups under the GOP's tent: theological warriors, who want to impose their social views on the rest of society Tea Party zealots, who say with a straight face that they want the government to get out of their Medicare and remnants of the pro-business moderates.”

— Eliot Spitzer

Government

“Facts matter. Science matters. Reason matters. Mitt Romney has shown an inability to respect any of the three. President Barack Obama not only respects them, he relies on them. He is an overwhelming and unquestioned choice to continue as president.”

— Eliot Spitzer

Respect

“When the United States was founded, the very idea of a nation premised on democratic principles of freedom and tolerance was viewed by the vast majority of the world as an experiment doomed to fail. Dictatorships, monarchies, and theocracies had for many centuries ruled the world.”

— Eliot Spitzer

Freedom

“I have acted in a way that violates my obligations to my family and violates my, or any, sense of right and wrong. I apologize first and most importantly to my family. I apologize to the public, whom I promised better.”

— Eliot Spitzer

Family

“I love and always have loved policy issues and trying to have an impact on the issues that are out there. I cherish my years in government. I have loved my participation at CNN, at Current writing teaching. Where I will go next, I will have to sort out.”

— Eliot Spitzer

Government

“Don't reward bad behavior. It is one of the first rules of parenting. During the financial cataclysm of 2008, we said it differently. When we bailed out banks that had created their own misfortune, we called it a 'moral hazard,' because the bailout absolved the bank's bad acts and created an incentive for it to make the same bad loans again.”

— Eliot Spitzer

Parenting

“I do not believe that politics in the long run is about individuals. It is about ideas.”

— Eliot Spitzer

Politics

“The reality of split government puts a premium on creativity within the administration. President Obama needs to put the right people in charge of the agencies and then have them push the bounds of administrative power to change policy through those agencies. President Obama has a pretty good track record of this.”

— Eliot Spitzer

Change

“Why does it have to be politics? Is there a dynamism to that world and a theoretical capacity to do things that draws many talented people? Absolutely. Are there other ways to be involved and lead an interesting life? Of course.”

— Eliot Spitzer

Politics

“We are all used to paying a sales tax when we buy things - almost 9 percent here in New York City. The application of this concept to the financial sector could solve our need for revenue, bring some sanity back into the financial sector, and give us a way to raise the revenue we need to run the government in a fiscally responsible way.”

— Eliot Spitzer

Government

“In politics you learn to always smile.”

— Eliot Spitzer

Politics

“Power must be used, but it must be tempered by soul-searching and the recognition of our human capacity for error. That is the maxim that should inform our approach to every challenge, from reforming state government to engaging in foreign affairs.”

— Eliot Spitzer

Government

“The attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon shook our nation to the core. Americans were deeply frightened, sad, and angry, and they rallied around a President who, at the time, showed impressive certitude and calm.”

— Eliot Spitzer

Sad

“Our criminal justice system is fallible. We know it, even though we don't like to admit it. It is fallible despite the best efforts of most within it to do justice. And this fallibility is, at the end of the day, the most compelling, persuasive, and winning argument against a death penalty.”

— Eliot Spitzer

Death

“I stand before you today because this vision of government as the engine of opportunity is what I believe in.”

— Eliot Spitzer

Government

“Imagine if the pension funds and endowments that own much of the equity in our financial services companies demanded that those companies revisit the way mortgages were marketed to those without adequate skills to understand the products they were being sold. Management would have to change the way things were done.”

— Eliot Spitzer

Change