Two Errant New Yorkers

By Colbert I. King
Saturday, March 15, 2008

Reminded that it was he who had appointed a judge who displeased him, New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia replied, "I have made a lot of good appointments, and I think I am good. But when I make a mistake, it's a beaut."

This week, two of the late mayor's fellow New Yorkers got off beauts of their own. Theirs, however, can't be played for laughs. And unlike La Guardia, no airports will ever be named after them.

Let's take up these characters in alphabetical order.

Geraldine Ferraro

The former congresswoman from New York, who was also the 1984 Democratic vice presidential nominee, resigned as a fundraiser for Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, having committed the sin of setting her mouth in motion before putting her mind in gear.

Ferraro stirred up a hornet's nest this week with remarks suggesting that Barack Obama is an affirmative-action baby -- that the Illinois senator is getting ahead only because of the color of his skin, not the content of his campaign.

"If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position. And if he was a woman (of any color), he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept," Ferraro told a California newspaper.

Unapologetic, and complaining that her remarks were being used to hurt Clinton, Ferraro struck her tent and marched off into the night, maintaining that she had done nothing wrong.

Clinton, who, if nothing else, operates with a keen sense of political peril, obviously thought that Ferraro had crossed the line. The former first lady threw her friend over the side.

During an appearance Wednesday before the National Newspaper Publishers Association, which represents more than 200 black-owned newspapers, Clinton was asked about Ferraro's remarks. She declared: "I certainly do repudiate it, and I regret deeply that it was said."

After the words "it was said," Clinton might have added "again."

Ferraro has done that race number before.

Remember the 1988 presidential campaign? On April 15, 1988, The Post's Howard Kurtz and Paul Taylor reported Ferraro's comment two days earlier on candidate Jesse Jackson: "If Jesse Jackson were not black, he wouldn't be in the race."

Geraldine Ferraro's fixation on race blinds her to the facts.

A year ago, Hillary Clinton held a double-digit lead over Obama in polls of African Americans. Those voters knew Obama was black. But along with other Democrats who initially favored Clinton, African Americans didn't know very much about him. They knew Hillary and Bill Clinton.

So in a matchup between the two senators, African Americans went with Clinton by wide margins.

It was only after seeing the Illinois senator in action, learning more about his vision for the country and drawing inspiration from his message of hope and change that many voters -- of all hues -- began moving his way.

It was because of Obama's content and his magnetic charm -- a point way over Ferraro's head.

Eliot Spitzer

The soon-to-be-former governor has a lot on his mind and much to sort through with authorities in the Empire State.

But if the published stories about his relationship with Ashley Youmans -- a.k.a. "Kristen" and Ashley Alexandra Dupre -- and their goings-on at the Mayflower Hotel are true, Spitzer needs to schedule a date for a return visit to the nation's capital.

This time, however, his engagement should be with the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.

At issue: the not-insignificant matter of Spitzer's reportedly having given "Kristen" $4,300 in exchange for getting to "know" her in the biblical sense. That kind of financial transaction runs afoul of laws governing the District.

But, you may say, the government doesn't pursue men who buy sex acts.

You would be wrong.

The U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia does prosecute the customers of prostitutes.

Last time I checked, more than 500 men who bought sex in this city had been arrested.

Here's where Spitzer's interaction with our U.S. attorney comes in.

Most of the arrested customers benefited from a diversion to the U.S. attorney's "John School" -- a one-day, eight-hour education and awareness program for the purchasers of prostitution.

The results are quite impressive. Of the 550 "johns" arrested as of last year, all signed up for the school; only two did not successfully complete the program (how do you fail?); and only two had been arrested again.

Sounds like a good program for a governor who's gone bad, though Spitzer may need more than a day.

So as they might say on TV, "C'mon down, Eliot Spitzer. C'mon down to D.C."

And bring along Geraldine Ferraro. She could benefit from a primer with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

kingc@washpost.com