Almost as if Eliot Spitzer and the prostitute ring scandal which felled him had never existed, David Paterson (D) was sworn in as governor in an Assembly chamber packed to capacity with cheering supporters, guests and legislators. Many seemed as if they could not have been happier to see Spitzer go.

In contrast to the antagonistic approach Spitzer had often taken to the Legislature, Paterson repeatedly returned to the theme of unity.

“What we are going to do from now on is what we always should have done,” he said to the joint session. “We’re going to work together.”

While the atmosphere was tense and several jokes fell flat during Spitzer’s January State of the State address, Paterson presided over a much lighter mood in the chamber, helped along by his joke-filled introduction to his speech.

Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (R-Rensselaer) later remarked that he felt as if a cloud had lifted from over Albany.

This remark was taken as a parting shot at Spitzer, with whom Bruno tussled repeatedly over his 15 months in office, prompting Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) to accuse Bruno of playing politics instead of following Paterson’s call for unity.

But reading between the lines of Silver’s own remarks, the criticism of Spitzer seemed clear.

“It’s been a long time since we have heard more eloquent, more spirited or more unifying remarks delivered by a governor in the Assembly chamber,” Silver said in his press conference after the speech.

Spitzer addressed the chamber twice during his 15 months in office, most recently during his Jan. 8 State of the State address.

Silver was far from the only Democrat to slip in apparent criticism of Spitzer now that the Sheriff of Wall Street has been banished from Albany. Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith (D-Queens) also critiqued Spitzer as a way of praising Paterson.

“Eliot had his own style, and while the style in terms of willingness to reform might have been right, the approach might have been a little wrong, and I think he would have said that as well,” Smith said. “I think David brings something different.”

Sen. Hillary Clinton (D) joined the fray as well. She had distanced herself from Spitzer when his proposal to give drivers licenses to illegal immigrants arose in a presidential debate, and seemed unhappy with his adversarial approach.

“I thought that Governor Paterson set exactly the right tone. It was strong, but he reached out and said we’ve got to do this together, and I have every confidence that he’s going to be exactly the governor we need at this time,” she said. “It’s a good beginning for our state coming out of the transition we had to go through.”

Assembly Member Herman D. Farrell (D-Manhattan) summarized the mood of many Democrats. Life under Spitzer, he said, was not as good as life under Paterson will be.

“It was a little too hostile,” he said. “We didn’t need that.”

Photo by Andrew Schwartz.