NY Gov. Spitzer in Full Retreat

Yesterday the embattled NY governor abandoned his plan to give drivers licenses to illegal aliens, and today he's backed down on a plan to require online retailers like Amazon.com to collect NY state income tax - something he was going to implement right before Christmas:

In a second major policy reversal in less than a day, Governor Spitzer is backing down from a plan to require Amazon.com and other online retailers to charge state and local sales taxes on all purchases from New York.

Yesterday, just hours after The New York Sun reported on the new revenue collection scheme, the Spitzer administration announced that it was burying it for the time being — at least until after the Christmas shopping season. The move saved New York City shoppers from having to pay an additional 8.375% on many Amazon.com goods.

"Governor Spitzer believes that now is not the right time to be increasing sales taxes on New Yorkers," Mr. Spitzer's budget director, Paul Francis, said in a statement. "He has directed the Department of Tax and Finance to pull back its interpretation that would require some Internet retailers that do not collect sales tax to do so."

The turnabout came just hours after Mr. Spitzer said he was dropping his plan to allow illegal immigrants in New York to obtain driver's licenses.

It's pretty rare to see a politician fall from grace as fast as Spitzer has. His administration has been rocked by scandal after scandal and bad decision after bad decision. He has chosen to ignore the will of NY voters and jam his ideas down their throats. Spitzer will be a one-term wonder at best, and any hopes he might have had for national office are toast.