Before The New York Times utterly destroyed former Governor Eliot Spitzer by breaking the news of his whoring ways, Spitzer didn't have much respect for the paper. New York State District Attorney David Soares' report on Troopergate includes an email exchange between Spitzer and aid Rich Baum in which they discuss Times reporter Nick Confessore. "In a separate set of e-mails early in the morning on that date, Spitzer asked Rich Baum: 'So how do u think confessore came out?'"

"To this, Baum replied: 'Thought confe[ssore] story was what you said—fine but not how should have been written. Amazing what they pass off as analysis."

"Spitzer responded: 'Agreed. Confessor[e] was just so superficial, but our side is there, and headline and lead are okay."

Nice of Spitzer to give Confessore and his Times colleagues some stronger meat to cover.

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