It's interesting to note that in the economic downturn, in general, Governors will be doing worse off (unpopular budgets) and Attorney Generals will be doing well (bringing justice to white-collar criminals). The Tech Bubble bursting in 2000 created Eliot Spitzer's career, eclipsing the now-derided George Pataki (disclaimer: I arrived in NY after Spitzer was already Governor; I don't know if the economic crisis claimed him or if it was just his own self). Now, it looks like Cuomo will be eclipsing Paterson (disclaimer: I also favor Cuomo over Paterson, but not because of the budget).
Does this trend hold nationally? Does it hold in general? Is there a state-wide cycle that can be pointed to?
I ask this question because not only did NYAG Cuomo take advantage of the AIG bust to put his name into the public sphere, but CTAG Richard Blumenthal is also grabbing a national headlines, saying that AIG's bonuses may have been larger than thought. Cuomo, at least, has a legitimate interest--after all, as Spitzer established, the NYAG has jurisdiction over the big financial companies that call Wall Street home. But does CTAG Blumenthal have jurisdiction over AIG in this case? I know that plenty of AIG officials live in Connecticut (where the mobs are already gathering), but is this case really any of his business?
Or is Connecticut such a quiet, law-abiding state that the Attorney General has time to help out his neighbors?
