Former New York governor Eliot Spitzer is having a very hard time rehabilitating his image. At one point during his 14-month tenure as governor, Spitzer was known as “The Enforcer,” and in turn, “The Steamroller.” Then the five-diamond hooker scandal came up, and Spitzer got some new nicknames, many of which I don’t even want to mention.

As part as his media rehabilitation, Spitzer is writing a weekly column at Slate, the online magazine. He writes about the financial crisis with some knowledge – as Attorney General of New York, his specialty was taking down white-collar corporate types who were defrauding investors and brokers.

Spitzer’s latest stop on his slow media tour was Today, and an interview with Matt Lauer. People is billing this as Spitzer’s “first interview since the scandal,” but he appeared on Fareed Zakaria’s GPS on CNN just a few weeks ago. In that interview, Spitzer said he had been “punished” after the hooker scandal because he had to spend time with his family (and I’m not joking). In Matt Lauer’s interview, Spitzer was a bit more circumspect, saying his behavior was “egregious” and there were “no excuses.”

Dealing with what he termed the 800-lb. gorilla in the room, Matt Lauer grilled former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer on Monday’s Today show in an interview that ostensibly was conducted to reveal Spitzer’s expertise on Wall Street and its current woes.

But first, the gorilla: After only 14 months in office, Spitzer resigned his position in March 2008 after it was revealed he was a regular client of a prostitution ring known as the Emperor’s Club V.I.P.

In his first interview since the scandal, Spitzer, 49, downplayed his involvement with the service, saying he used it “not frequently … not long.” The disgraced politician, saying there were “no excuses possible” for his behavior – which he repeatedly called “egregious” – also said that he is still frequently asked about important issues.

Even so, he said, “I’ve had flaws,” and he has thought about them “deeply,” he said, saying he has “tried to address these gremlins.” He credits his “spectacular wife,” Silda, and their three daughters “who are wonderful” for their understanding after they had to deal with “excruciating pain.”

In their probe, federal prosecutors, who ultimately decided not to charge Spitzer with any crime, looked into whether the politician – who built his professional reputation as a dogged State Attorney General nicknamed “The Enforcer” – had possibly concealed or used laundered funds, or used campaign contributions for his prostitutes.

[From People Magazine]

In last month’s Vogue, the governor’s wife, Silda Spitzer, was interviewed with kid gloves. She’s a remarkably classy woman, and I have no idea how she kept her head above water after the torrent of criticism and scandal she and her family have faced this past year. Though she didn’t say much about her husband in the interview, I got the feeling that their marriage is still pretty strong, and she’s forgiven him for the most part. Of course, I suspect Silda will “pull a Hillary” and use her husband’s zipper problem to make her own mark in politics, finance, and charitable interests. As she should – she’s earned it, putting up with that man.