Despite his swift resignation as governor New York three years ago, Eliot Spitzer has not been able to keep himself away from public scrutiny. First he got a column at Slate, then a talk show on CNN with Kathleen Parker--who recently left the show. He even ventured into international politics this week, urging President Obama to intervene in Libya in order to win "the hearts and souls of the next generation" in the MIddle East. So, is he ready to run for office again?

Maybe. On CNN's Fareed Zakaria GPS, Spizter was asked if he's going to run for mayor of New York City. Spizter's denial was mild--"I love hosting my show!"--and Spitzer himself described it as "not Shermanesque." 

Zarakia said the answer meant the next step is setting up an exploratory committee.

Zakaria's show aired on Sunday, but the line about the possible mayoral bid went largely unnoted until the New York political press corps started tweeting about it on Tuesday afternoon. Ben Smith of Politico took it to mean Spitzer's running: "The Spitzer-Weiner primary will be a thing to watch in 2013," referring to U.S. Rep. Anthony Weiner who's long had an eye on City Hall. His colleague Maggie Haberman, another Gotham politics veteran quipped, "If Spitzer runs for mayor, odds on how soon someone follows him on the trail waving black socks?."

When Spitzer began his media career, he was asked, "How do you like being a journalist?" His response? "Come on, I was fucking governor."

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Elspeth Reeve