Eliot Spitzer is ducking questions that many believe are necessary to know whether the New York gubernatorial frontrunner will cut taxes or raise taxes in the most heavily-taxed state in the union.

Danny Hakim in The Times Blog:

Asked if Governor Pataki had cut the public payroll by too much, Mr. Spitzer said, "I'm not going to weigh in on that at this moment."

Fred Dicker of the New York Post pressed further, more than once, but Mr. Spitzer held his ground. "I said I wouldn't tell you. I know, Fred, you like to think that everything I've concluded I'll tell you, but there’s still a little delta* there."

Later, Mr. Spitzer was asked where he stood on calls to reform Wicks Law, which requires multiple contracts on public construction projects and drives up costs.

No go.

"I said I wouldn’t tell you," he told reporters. "There are decisions that you make about policy shifts that do not and should not be announced immediately because it will have an impact on the ability to effectuate policy shifts when you need them."

Except that, under our form of government, voters actually get a say on "policy shifts" every four years, via the ballot box.

Elizabeth Benjamin refers to Spitzer's remarks about why he won't say where he stands on a sigificant issue as a "nonexplanation."

Benjamin also notes that Spitzer's performance has annoyed the Albany Press Corps - which will now ask Spitzer the question from 1,000 different angles 1,000 different ways until Primary Day. It also gives incredible fodder to Tom Suozzi, Spitzer's Democratic opponent, and John Faso, the Republican gubernatorial nominee. Does Spitzer have, they may ask, a secret deal with the unions to keep New York's high-spending, high-taxing policies and laws in place? If there's no secret, they might ask, why doesn't he just say where he stands?

MORE: Faso's press secretary Susan Del Percio just issued a statement, saying in part:

Eliot Spitzer has been avoiding these kinds of questions for weeks, either because he doesn't know the answers, or he is afraid to tell New Yorkers the truth: that his spending promises will raise taxes.

His performance yesterday provides the perfect supplement to his announcement of a property tax "relief" plan (a plan that several fiscal experts agreed would actually raise taxes) where he would not answer questions at his own press conference.

Spitzer has, in effect, no-commented himself into a corner.