Sunday, December 17, 2006

Southern gentility and an iron will

Times Union PAUL GRONDAHL,


"As he faced a pack of Capitol reporters, Gov.-elect Eliot Spitzer reached over with his left hand and scratched the small of his wife's back.

Shielded from the cameras' view, his smooth move went largely unnoticed.
But the gesture was at once intimate and reassuring for first-lady-to-be Silda Wall Spitzer, 48, newly arrived in the lion's den of Albany politics.
It seemed a signal from a protective husband.
Babe, as he calls his wife, I've got your back.
After announcing events for the inaugural, Wall Spitzer sat beside her husband and Lt. Gov.-elect David Paterson during a news conference as reporters stepped over each other's questions, jockeying for position.
A muscle in Spitzer's neck twitched and he appeared flummoxed. He stammered while he was peppered with questions aimed at goading him into revealing his plans for dealing with Comptroller Alan Hevesi's scandal and Gov. George Pataki's 11th-hour appointments for political pals.
Almost imperceptibly, his wife leaned in slightly and gently brushed his forearm with hers. She slowly twisted her wedding band and softly tapped her boot on the carpet.
The body language made it clear: She's got his back, too.
There's no mistaking how much she brings to the table on behalf her 47-year-old husband -- they've been married for 19 years -- and the central role she plays in advising him politically.
"Eliot and I both grew up with parents who worked together as a strong team," she said. "That's the only way I know how to go about it, to be as supportive as I can be for him. He, in turn, is as supportive as he can be with my interests and endeavors."


A wonderful article about the Spizter family and how they are going to deal with the dramatic changes ahead.......... click here to continue the story ..............andy

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