comm207fall06

In the Senate, Clinton has been praised as a hardworking and effective advocate for the state who's been willing to forge relationships across party lines. She's irked many anti-war activists for refusing to recant her 2002 vote authorizing military intervention in Iraq, but in recent months has harshly criticized the Bush administration's war strategy and called for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to resign.

Spitzer, a popular state attorney general nicknamed "the Sheriff of Wall Street" for his high-profile investigations of corporate corruption, crushed his GOP opponent, lobbyist and former assemblyman John Faso. Spitzer, with his campaign slogan "Day One Everything Changes," has vowed to bring his zeal for reform to the famously dysfunctional state government.

Spitzer, who succeeds Republican Gov. George Pataki, has pledged to reduce property taxes in the state, which are among the highest in the nation, and bring the state's spiraling Medicaid costs under control. He must also resolve a lawsuit requiring the state to spend $4 billion to $5 billion more on New York City schools.

posted by Jeremy  # 8:00 PM