"Oh, no, he didn't," I thought as I read the first report that Gov. Spitzer plotted a new round of dirty tricks against a Republican rival. But as each detail emerged, including a confession from one of the plotters and the draft of a letter to the Internal Revenue Service calling for a tax probe, the facts were undeniable. "He did it. He did it again."

What's wrong with Eliot Spitzer? The Democratic governor seems to have a political death wish, and if he keeps going this way, it'll be granted. Following his wildly unpopular plan to give driver's licenses to illegal immigrants - a top Dem called it the "third rail" of politics - the latest twist in the Eliot Mess has all of Albany scratching its head.

Asked if Spitzer needed a psychiatrist, one insider had another idea: "Better get an exorcist."

Or at least Spitzer ought to upgrade his hit men. Once again, his Dream Team acted like the gang that can't shoot straight. The letter to the IRS, which was to be signed by three Democratic state senators - shame on them - was mistakenly sent to an ally of the target, Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno. One of the chief plotters, Malcolm Smith of Queens, the Senate minority leader, then quickly called Bruno that night and confessed all.

Only in Albany, where every night is Amateur Night.

Still stuck in the public doghouse over Troopergate, the plot to get the State Police to improperly compile the travel records of Bruno and give them to a newspaper, Spitzer obviously hasn't learned anything. While he publicly apologized after getting caught, the governor privately kept digging for dirt.

Once again, he was prepared to use law enforcement for the purely political aim of weakening Bruno. Once again, his office claimed it was acting because of media interest.

"Media outlets have raised questions about the tax implications" of Bruno's use of state aircraft was how Spitzer's press office defended the move. The statement admitted that "executive chamber staff and Senate staff" worked together to try to get the tax man's attention.

Press secretary Christine Anderson wouldn't answer when asked by reporters whether Spitzer himself was involved. No need to - of course he was. Just as he was with Troopergate - this is his MO. He thinks he's still attorney general. Dirty 'em up and then they'll have to settle.

Imagine if Republicans behaved that way - the civil liberties people would be filing lawsuits before breakfast.

Plot No. 2 looks similar to Plot No. 1 because it is. Indeed, Plot No. 2 was even part of the original planning. According to Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's July 23 report that revealed Troopergate, in early June, William Howard, then the deputy secretary for Homeland Security, wrote an e-mail to Spitzer's chief of staff about Bruno, saying: "The impending travel stuff implies more problems - particularly in the tax area, I think. I think the timing is right for that move." It took them awhile, but they made that move. So here we are again.

The rapid unraveling of Spitzer's tenure is starting to resemble another political collapse - Jim McGreevey's. Like Spitzer, the New Jersey governor won in a landslide and was soon up to his neck in nonstop corruption scandals, lousy government and a shaky relationship with the truth. When McGreevey finally quit 2-1/2 years after taking office, his party was looking for an alternative to replace him because two-out-of-three New Jersey voters opposed a second term.

Spitzer isn't that far gone yet, but in office less than 10 months, he's moving downhill faster and earlier than McGreevey did. Unless he gets his act together, he could meet the same end and have the same legacy that a New Jersey political scientist pinned on the disgraced McGreevey.

"He wasted the governorship because of an enormous character flaw: not recognizing how he was trapped by his own dishonesty," David Rebovich, director of Rider University's Institute for New Jersey Politics, told the Philadelphia Inquirer.

NY Daily News