Spitzer out as N.Y. gov

Eliot Spitzer, the combative New York governor who has been under fire after revelations he engaged the services of prostitutes, announced today that he will resign effective next Monday, March 17.

Spitzer, a Democrat who rose to prominence as the picture of a squeaky-clean, take-no-prisoners prosecutor, was subdued in his resignation.

"I am deeply sorry that I did not live up to what was expected of me," he said, according to a report in the New York Times. "To every New Yorker, and to all those who believed in what I tried to stand for, I sincerely apologize."

Spitzer will be replaced by current Lt. Governor David Paterson. Paterson will become New York's first African-American governor. The first-term Lt. Governor previously served as New York Senate minority leader, and had been touted by some as a possible successor to Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., should she be elected President.

One unanswered question is how this affects the campaign of Clinton for the presidency. Both Spitzer and Paterson are superdelegates, and both had already endorsed Clinton. But it is unclear whether Spitzer will retain his superdelegate status after he resigns. New York has no provision for replacing a Lt. Governor, so it is possible Clinton will lose a delegate.

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