(Photo: Brad Barket/Getty Images )

The now-chummy Eliot Spitzer’s new best buddy seems to be Mike Bloomberg. In the last two weeks, Spitzer has made low-key appearances with the mayor, touring a health clinic in Chelsea on August 9 and an affordable-housing ribbon-cutting August 14. “Two events in five days is not a coincidence,” says one source close to Bloomberg, claiming Spitzer’s press people “wanted an event, and the mayor agreed to be helpful.” One of Spitzer’s advisers also calls the new “coziness” no accident. “It’s axiomatic: If you’re teetering a bit, you go and you find the most popular person to hang out with you. The mayor is the gold standard right now. It’s a great place to look for validation.” The governor also appointed the mayor’s companion, Diana Taylor, to fill an important state post (though she says Spitzer courted her as early as last year). The big question, notes the Spitzer guy, is “Where are Chuck and Hillary? Eliot’s gotta go to the mayor because Hillary doesn’t want to take a risk and Chuck doesn’t want to do the favor.”

Have good intel? Send tips to intel@nymag.com.

Related:

• Archive: “Intelligencer”
• Articles by Geoffrey Gray
• Table of Contents: August 27, 2007 issue of New York | Subscribe!