The New Republic was just about the first publication to recognize in Eliot Spitzer a national figure (click here to read Noam Scheiber's 2002 profile of Spitzer and here and here for what Spitzer has written for TNR), just as we were the first to recognize Barack Obama as an aspirant with talent who would develop a deep reservoir of support (click here for Noam's examination of Obama's 2004 Senate campaign). The Siena College poll, a very reputable and, as it happens, reliable survey, shows that New York Attorney General Spitzer would trample over Republican State Assembly Minority Leader John Faso, in the race for governor, by 72 to 21 percent. Even if the only people to vote were registered Republicans, Spitzer would triumph by 48 to 40 points. Look for a Spitzer landslide. Obama will not be the Democratic presidential nominee, despite his support among our readers, but he is positioning himself for a race to be the vice presidential candidate. I like Obama. But, if we are looking for a candidate with a real liberal record who has fought on treacherous ground, not just the podium, we couldn't do better than Eliot Spitzer.

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