A Very Warm Welcome To My New Slate Colleague

Henry Blodget | December 3, 2008 9:08 PM

eliot spitzer happy.jpgAbout five years ago, a then-little-known Attorney General named Eliot Spitzer got me kicked out of the securities industry. Shortly thereafter, during a period when I was sure that, among other things, no one would ever be caught dead professionally associating with me again, an editor named Jacob Weisberg at Slate reached out a hand.  With a big smile, Jacob said he liked the idea of my launching my "comeback" (his word) by covering the Martha Stewart trial for the magazine, and he couldn't wait to begin.

I've always been grateful to Jacob and his Slate colleagues for that, and over the years, I've had the privilege of writing several series and more than a hundred columns for the magazine. Those assignments opened the door to others (including a book on how not to get screwed by Wall Street), and ultimately led me to Silicon Alley Insider. 

Ironically enough, it was also through Slate that I actually got to meet Eliot Spitzer for the first time (I had been near his office before, in 2001, when his investigators spent five days grilling me, but I had never actually met the man). A year or so after the Martha Stewart trial, Eliot dropped by a Slate event before launching his run for governor.  I met him in the buffet line.

ME (napkin roll in hand, flustered to suddenly find myself in the presence of my Destroyer): Hi, Eliot, Henry Blodget, good to meet you. You made my life a bit rough there for a while!

ELIOT: (3,000-watt smile): That's my job!

(Yes, he was charming. And I respected a lot of what he had done. I even voted for the bastard.)

And now I see that Slate has a new columnist: a very well-known ex-Governor named Eliot Spitzer, who has recently had a rough patch of his own.  I can imagine Jacob Weisberg's huge grin as he signed up his newest reputationally-challenged charge, and I can imagine Eliot's appreciation in return.  And now that several bizarrely connected twists of fate have placed all three of us on the same team, I can't wait to shake both of their hands.

Welcome aboard, Eliot!

I am definitely going to the Slate Christmas party this year.

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32 Comments

Jay Yarow said:
Slate's still having a Christmas party? Kudos to them.
Ritz crackers and Kraft cheeze.
rdisme said:
Henry, you deserve to hold your head up high now - just don't let your head get too big again.
Thanks, rdisme. I know it sounds strange, but it really never was big. I felt privileged and lucky as hell to be where I was.
crawford said:
Thanks for sharing this Henry.
Henry, you are one of the most modest and humble writers around today, bar none. You could be defensive and unrepentant about the dealings that put you in conflict with Spitizer's office in the past but you're not. That makes a big difference - I would not hang around SAI (and occasionally Clusterstock) if you behaved any differently. I'm glad Slate got your foot back in the door again professionally, and I'm amazed at how well you handled meeting Spitzer, so I have no doubt you'll show the same class now that he's your colleague and it will go just fine for you and him. Best of luck.
maximo (URL) said:
A very interesting post. Thanks for sharing!
CD Kodi (URL) said:
Henry,

I have been following your blog(s) for a long time. What made me comment for the first time is your amazing sincerity and honesty in acknowledging portions of your past, I myself would never had the guts to do.

Congratulations on the way you have "come back". Hope you get to run the NY Times soon :)
Rich B said:
You're a class act, Henry. I appreciate your writings. I also appreciate your videos and Mr. Task's videos over on Tech Ticker. Great job.
HalogenGuy said:
Henry, you continue to demonstrate an inspiring mix of humility, transparency and ambition. Nice share.
LukeG (URL) said:
A true classic. Cheers to you, and definitely to Jacob Weisberg as well. That guy definitely knows something about value investing.
cocli (URL) said:
it is well done
kamran said:
makes you appreciate the true meaning of - a friend in need is a friend indeed - great post
Mark said:
Henry - you suck!
Just kidding, you're awesome. Just wanted to throw people off after reading that huge list of compliments to you. Cool story though. I'm curious to know more.
G said:
Henry - while your trials in the past may have placed you in some uncomfortable corners - you seem to have found your calling as a journalist. Keep up the good work - and the great humoor that goes along with the Blodget Genre.

As for Spitzer - when when you do run into Eliot again - let us know if he is still sporting that "3000 Watt Smile".

Cheers!
john haskell said:
now all we need is a certain r&B artist/ courtesan to join the Slate Team and it will be "you me and Dupree"
Teddy Anderson (URL) said:
Hello Henry.
Awesome writing on the past and present of the Wicked Sheriff Of Wall Street.
John Wilson said:
shills should take your cue and repent
StM said:
You're a better man than I am, Henry. Spitzer never even did anything to me and I doubt I could restrain myself if I were standing next to him.

Right now my favorite candidate is, "So, El, can you explain to me why every single person you ever put in jail on a prostitution charge shouldn't be legally allowed to slap you right in the face?"
Robin said:
Irony is a beautiful thing.
rick (URL) said:
Looks like we're all indebted to Jacob Weisberg.
Henry,

This is one of the coolest stories I've read in a while. "Comeback" is right. It take a big man (or woman) to meet his destroyer and vote for him.

Who else predicts Spitzer will start a blogging empire of his own in a few years?

Buying albanyinsider.net now
mjaybee said:
Slate Christmas party? Will there be hookers there?
Henry, while I respect your open mind and heart towards "the bastard" (and I'm not even being facetious), Spitzer is a d-bag, and a hypocritical one at that. I was hoping he would spend the next 20 years in a maximum-security prison, and, mind you, I'm [mostly] an amiable person who is pro-legalizing prostitution. I would lobby for letting him run a blog from his cell to record his, umm, encounters.
Stan O'Kneel said:
Spitzer is a scumbag, and it's disappointing to see you bend over like this. It's one thing to bury the hatchet; it's quite another to give him a tongue bath on your blog.
JP said:
"Kid, have you rehabilitated yourself?"
-- Arlo
Dorothy (URL) said:
Definitely smart moves on the part of Jacob Weisberg - ensures the kind of thoughtful and compelling writing that Slate always delivers. Controversy certainly makes for good writing, and gratefulness makes for loyal employees.

Just when I thought I couldn't fall even more in love with Slate...
ahndy said:
Hahaha - wonder who'll be his "date" at the party?

You can compliment his "good work" by looking at the mess AIG and all the other companies he "helped" are in today.
FPSSPM said:
Henry,

Great article. I doubt I would have had the same altrustic feeling for this slime bag (spitz), but good on your for being a good person! Keep up your wonderful articles/business, you are a big plus to the industry.

Send me an email some time on the side.
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north lennox said:
Hmm, a witch convention. Perhaps the witches will ban together and learn to forgive themselves and each other.
Scott said:
Nice touch of class here Henry ... I haven't really followed your blog, just saw you highlighted in NYTimes Dealbook newsletter and checked it out. Glad I did.

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