perfidy

Via WSJ's sometimes annoying email news alerts, this headline:

After taking a string of scalps, New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer suffered a high-profile loss today, taking some of the luster off his campaign against shady mutual-fund trading.

Funny thing - I could be misremembering, but he hasn't actually taken many scalps in his tenure as New York Attorney General, though he has convinced a lot of people to scalp themselves and deliver the flesh and hair to him, gift wrapped.

Without expressing opinion on either his choice of targets or his reasons for seeming always to be trying to be newsworthy, there's a funny thing about this loss, encapsulated in the words of whatever sporting wit came up with the phrase "That's why they play the games".

Spitzer's ability to terrorize individuals and companies into admitting guilt may have advanced the cause of justice so far during his tenure. Heck, anything's possible. But every so often, at the very least, it's nice to see someone force him to get a case in front of a jury, to ensure both that remembers where the courthouse is located and that he's not simply an overreaching schmuck.

And I'm not saying he is. But a jury in New York State Supreme Court has given a hint that perhaps, in this case, he might have some attributes in common with such grandees.

[wik] Link to WSJ story replaced with one to a non-subscription report on the matter, at the Telegraph.

[alsø wik] Freely available, terse, and complete - WSJ editorial on the matter.