Spitzer running for Senate?

Since admitting to his liasons with a professional prostitution service and subsequent resignation as Governor of New York State, Eliot Spitzer has done a remarkable job of improving his image in the last year. He is now a media star, lending his expertise and knowledge of economic and political matters to various cable news outlets, detailing with exact precision the unscrupulous and nefarious practices of Wall Street and the financial sector, while simultaneously criticizing those in the Obama Administration for not doing what's necessary.

But could a political comeback be in the making? Since his resignation and the swearing in of David Paterson as New York Governor, polls have shown that New York residents would prefer to have Spitzer as governor than Paterson.

There is now word that Spitzer has been discussing with close friends about a possible return to the political arena, according to The Daily Beast. Lloyd Grove has spoken to three Spitzer confidantes, with one telling Spitzer that a return to politics is out of the question, while the other two did not discourage him. Spitzer of late has been asked repeatedly if he would run against New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, to which he has denied.

In late 2009, a friend of Spitzer's commented to the Daily Beast:

He wants to be relevant. I think he keeps toying with it—running against Kirsten Gillibrand or running for comptroller. He doesn't have to raise the money. He already has the money, if he decides to do it. I told him he had to consider if this was something he wanted to drag his family back through again, especially if there is anything else [that is, a fresh scandal] out there…I hear that Silda [Spitzer's wife] doesn't want him to do it.

Not only has Spitzer become a darling of cable news networks and public speaking engagements, but he also recently addressed his discretions directly in an interview with BigThink.com, in which he provided humility by admitting his personal failings, and on appeared on The Colbert Report, in which he rolled with Stephen Colbert's jokes:

Ben Bernanke, who oversaw the collapse of not only the United States but pretty much the entire world financial system and brought our economy to its knees, has been reappointed as head of the Fed. Does this give you hope for being reelected governor of New York? Because, may I remind you, he screwed everybody!

I just became a big fan of Ben Bernanke.

And the Sheriff of Wall Street has his many fans, as he's needed now more than ever before. Here's a recent Spitzer appearance on Democracy Now!, in which he discussed the banks, the bailouts, the Obama Administration's handling of the banks and regulation, Tim Geitner, Ben Bernanke, and all things relating to current economic and political matters: