Admit it. All of you in the insurance industry who have had your lives turned upside down by probes into contingency fees or finite reinsurance by Eliot Spitzer when he was New York's attorney general, can't help but snicker about the “Choppergate” scandal that has sent the approval rates of Gov. Spitzer plummeting. But while the cocky crusader has been struggling to swallow a taste of his own medicine, there's no doubt he will bounce back soon–which is actually good news for the state's insurance market.

For those of you not keeping track of New York State's murky political battles, Gov. Spitzer–kept in check only by the long-time leader of the Senate, Republican Joe Bruno–was the victim of a smear campaign by Spitzer minions, who clumsily tried to undermine the Senate majority leader with allegations that he improperly used state aircraft for political purposes. Not only was this not true, but to get the “evidence” and leak it to the press, Gov. Spitzer's staff manipulated the state police and freedom of information laws.

Gov. Spitzer–who insists he knew nothing about this idiotic scheme–is learning the hard way that governing a state is a lot harder than being a dictatorial prosecutor. It must be killing the Sheriff of Wall Street to see his methods, honesty and integrity challenged, and his name turning to mud in the media.