The news is that NY Governor Elliott Spitzer is “involved” with a federal prostitution ring investigation. Of course he’s claiming it’s a private matter between him and his family, and in part he’s right. But I’m still disappointed. He rode by wide margin to an election victory on a message of hope and change. New Yorkers were captivated by a man who told a good story and was going to set the badly damaged government of the state on track. Yet less than 2 years into his term, he’s been rocked by two significant scandals of his own making. Each of which I could get by if he were showing any promise of delivering on the “new deal” he was supposed to deliver. But so far, he has been decidedly impotent, well, at least legislatively.

The parallels between Spitzer and Obama are frightening. They are both young mavericks leading the charge for change against the great cogs of the status quo. They are both promising there will be no more business as usual. Now I’m not suggesting that Obama is destined for scandal or will cheat on his wife. But I do wonder if, like Spitzer, his reach will far exceed his grasp. That we’ll find come 2010 that the man who promised so much has found that will and optimism don’t buy squat in a highly politicized arena.

Now maybe it’s unfair to saddle Obama with Spitzer’s legacy. Obviously, his mileage will vary. But it is food for thought. Sometimes feeling good is just not enough.