Park Slope resident and WNYC political director, Andrea Bernstein, has been working hard these last few days (and she’s just back from Ohio covering primary and Burma before that teaching Burmese journalists).

The Spitzer story is a perfect story for her because she KNOWS New York politics and she’s been covering it for years. 

Today on WNYC radio, Bernstein continutes to prove that she knows her stuff. She is very familiar with all the cast of characters of this story—Eliot and Silda Spitzer, David and Basil Patterson—and  has been very even-handed even compassionate toward Spitzer. It’s a tragic story and she has shed light on it with honesty and depth.   

Remarking on Silda Wall Spitzer’s calm demeanor during Spitzer’s resignation speech, Bernstein told Brian Lehrer this morning:

"People’s marriages are private. I wouldn’t want to second guess her decision. They always seemed to have a good relationship. She is, herself, an accomplished lawyer. She’s from North Carolina. She’s exhibited grace in every circumstance. They have three children, they have a long marriage. If she decides she doesn’t want to give that up over this. That’s not a decision I would second guess."

And she hasn’t just been on WNYC radio. Last night Diaper Diva called to say, "Andrea Bernstein is on News Hour!" Click. She hung up fast so she could get back to actually seeing Andrea Bernstein on TV. Here’s an excerpt from that Newshour broadcast.

Andrea, you make Park Slopers proud. You looked confident and smart last night on Newshour:

RAY SUAREZ: Here to bring us up-to-date on this story is Nicholas Confessore, who covers Albany for the New York Times, and Andrea Bernstein, New York Public Radio’s political director.
Andrea, yesterday, Governor Spitzer closed his impromptu news conference by saying, "I’ll report back to you in short order." Has he? Has any public statement of any kind come out of the governor or his office today?

ANDREA BERNSTEIN, Political Director, New York Public Radio: No, in fact it’s been long order. It’s been complete lockdown in the governor’s office. They’ve had nothing to say.

And from all my reporting I did today, it seemed that only a very few aides were in on the governor’s thinking. Some top governor’s office staffers were not aware of what was going on.

And at about, I think, 4 o’clock, the New York Times reported there would be no resignation today. I asked the governor’s communications director, Christine Anderson, if that was true. She said, "Nothing for you." And then, shortly before 5 o’clock, I got an email from her that said, "Nothing today."

That is all the communication that I’ve gotten from the governor’s office. So whatever deliberations have been going on in his home, with his top aides, have been very, very closely held.