Jay Leno finally asked Eliot Spitzer the question many Americans have been wondering for years.
"How can you be this stupid?"
Spitzer appeared on The Tonight Show on Friday to discuss his return to politics. The disgraced former governor announced earlier this week that he would be running for New York City comptroller.
"You seem to be the guy who crossed every T and dotted every I," Leno said. "How did you make this big blunder?"
Spitzer resigned as Governor of New York after news broke that he had paid for sex with prostitutes. His explanation:
"When I used to speak about corporate governance back when I was, you know, the Attorney General and stuff, there was a phrase that I used that was “Hubris is terminal.” People who fall prey to hubris, end up falling themselves. And that I think is something to which people in government are susceptible to. Those who feel they are somehow increasingly important to power. And this is something that I think infected me. And the fall from grace is incredibly painful. It is something from which you learn. And hopefully you can then move on and contribute. "
Spitzer's campaign announced on Thursday that it had received more than enough signatures to get on the ballot in the New York City comptroller race-- 27,000, to be exact. He is also leading his opponent, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, in the polls.
But the campaign hasn't been all smooth sailing.
One of Spitzer's campaign organizers quit hours into the race.The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Spitzer is also being sued by a former Wall Street executive for defamation.
Watch the full Leno clip above.