Opportunity Awaits

Crisis always brings opportunity.

And this was amply evident this morning as New York Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno stepped before the microphones and spoke in advance of Eliot Spitzer's resignation.

Bruno delivered an upbeat, eloquent, unifying message and pledged to move forward with the business of the state. Though Bruno himself was often a target of Spitzer's legendary hatreds and nefarious schemes, his comments today were entirely positive and sympathetic to Spitzer and his family.

It's important to note that Bruno is next in line (after the Lieutenant Governor) to become Governor and he will serve as Acting Governor whenever the new Acting Governor cannot serve. Today, the silver-haired Bruno (a grandfather who has been married to the same woman for 57 years) certainly looked and acted like a Governor. We wish him well!

Schadenfreude.

Schadenfreude is the hot, hot word of the moment.
It's a noun and it means "a malicious satisfaction obtained from the misfortunes of others." It's pronounced SHOD-n-froy-duh. It comes from the German, from Schaden, "damage" + Freude, "joy." It is often capitalized, as it is in German.
The word is hot right now because of the Spitzer Scandal. It describes both Spitzer's feeling when he took on his Wall Street enemies and others with self-righteous indignation and also the feeling of Spitzer's enemies and others now as they watch Spizer's fall from grace.
Delighting in the misfortunes of others seems to be epidemic these days.
Schadenfreude. It's all schadenfreude, darlings.