Spitz-o-phrenia?

In a must read, The New York Observer’s Felix Gillette and Reid Pillifant write about CNN and 8pm…and of course Eliot Spitzer…

Update: Link fixed.

The truth is, a solid foundation in scandal has come to be a perfectly respectable starting point for any small-screen aspirant hoping to break through in an age of hundreds of channels and on-demand everything. Whatever else his qualifications, Mr. Spitzer has proven in recent times to have a knack for one of the more prized skills in cable news-namely, polarizing audiences.

Call it Spitz-o-phrenia.

“He’s a Rorschach test,” Peter Elkind, the author of Rough Justice: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer, recently told The Observer. “People hate him and they sort of bite their lip about how he screwed up. And people admire and like what he did as attorney general.”

On the other hand …

“My perception is, he would be great on television as a magnet for viewers because he’s so smart and he’s such a great lawyer,” said Lanny Davis, a television pundit (who frequently appears on CNN) and former special counsel to President Clinton, who calls himself an old friend and supporter of Mr. Spitzer’s.

“I was actually asked this question by a fellow who was thinking of hiring him and I said, ‘Forget about his political career, he’s going to have good ratings because people are going to watch and be fascinated by him,'” Mr. Davis added. “Because this is about someone who’s willing to bounce back. It’s part of an American narrative that goes all the way back in history. We love Horatio Alger. We love forgiving.”