Everything was supposed to be different, wasn’t it?

Just around six months ago, Eliot Spitzer rode a white horse into the governor’s mansion. That white horse had a name: reform. After 12 years of George Pataki leading the Albany agenda, after years of the so-called “three men in a room” triumvirate of Pataki, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno controlling everything and everything that happens in the State Legislature, things were finally going to change. The plan was for Spitzer to ride that horse, along with a huge mandate from the voters, and change the entire culture of Albany from day one.

Well, nothing’s changed. In fact, Spitzer may have made it worse.

It was revealed, following an investigation by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, that several of Spitzer’s aides misused the State Police for political purposes, all in an effort to set up Bruno for a major fall. By planting information gathered by the police with the Albany Times-Union newspaper, they had hoped to paint Bruno as a man abusing the taxpayer trust, commandeering state aircraft for political business. But Cuomo found that Bruno broke no law. Instead, the ethical, if not criminal violations, fall at the feet of Spitzer’s henchmen. And though he denies it, it’s very diffficult to believe that a micromanager like Spitzer knew nothing about the plot, especially given his very publicly stated desire to “steamroll” those who stand in his way. Bruno, for example.

The State Senate’s Republican majority has already begun to discuss a potential investigation into the matter, and criminal charges could be on the way for the two Spitzer aides. In a span of just about six months, Eliot Spitzer shot his horse and embroiled himself in a scandal over a hit on Bruno he never needed. Even if New York’s GOP had gotten its act together and turned the tide to protect its waning hold on the State Senate majority, demographics alone indicate that Spitzer’s fellow Democrats will more than likely take over that house in an election cycle or two. There was no need to try to set up Bruno. Now, the clumsy heavy-handedness of the Spitzer administration has breathed new life into the State Republican Party. And Spitzer has lost whatever high ground he had to be critical of them.

His vision for reforming Albany has effectively died. Whether he was actively involved in the setup or not, this entire fiasco was carried out in the governor’s name. It’s very hard to be a credible good government reformer when you’re engaged in such underhanded shenanigans. It becomes even harder when Spitzer’s aides refuse to be questioned under oath, as they did to Cuomo during his investigation. A written statement might make it easier to protect yourself, but it also makes you look like you’ve got something to hide. Maybe about your boss.

Republicans in Albany are already discussing the possibility of impeaching Spitzer and what the potential political fallout would be across the state. The last Republicans led a high-profile impeachment trial involving fellatio, and the nation didn’t care. But this time, the Democrats have handed their opponents an actual issue, corruption and taxpayer abuse, that would likely have legs among the general voting public. Given the evidence that we have today impeachment is not warranted. Were it to be revealed that Spitzer knew this was going on it would be justified, especially given his past denials.

Can Spitzer recover? Of course he could, but that largely depends on those around him. If Bruno overplays his hand in criticizing Spitzer, sympathy could swing back towards the governor. If Cuomo doesn’t jump on this chance (not very likely) to become Albany’s new, untainted, clean government crusader, Spitzer would not be forced to share the spotlight with him. Bruno may have been vindicated in the whole mess, but Cuomo is the big winner here. With one report, he has not only crippled the Spitzer administration but also cleanly seized the mantle of hardnosed prosecutor that Spitzer himself used to his advantage while serving as attorney general.

Spitzer was supposed to change the culture that the Pataki administration allowed to fester. But nothing has changed at all. In fact, thanks to this scandal, Silver now occupies the position he held under Pataki but was forced to turn over when Spitzer came to town. Until Eliot Spitzer cleans up his act, Sheldon Silver is once again the most powerful Democrat in state government.