Eliot Spitzer: Cable News' Next Big Thing?

He's been fodder for late-night jokes and even helped inspire one of the TV season's biggest hits ('The Good Wife'). Now, is disgraced former New York governor Eliot Spitzer about to become a legitimate TV star?

Or, as one media expert suggests, is he about to become a TV "car wreck" you just can't not watch?

The Associated Press reports that Spitzer, who resigned his gubernatorial position in 2008 after a scandal in which he was proven to regularly solicit prostitutes, is a "hot commodity" in cable TV news land, where he is being considered for regular gigs on MSNBC and CNN.

MSNBC is currently trying to fill its 10PM timeslot, and could offer Spitzer a chance to host a solo show, while CNN has an opening for a host at 8PM, after the departure of Campbell Brown in May, and is thought to be toying with the idea of pairing Spitzer with a co-host with opposing viewpoints, a la 'Crossfire' or the now-defunct 'Hannity & Colmes' on Fox News.

Spitzer, who many media and political insiders believe is trying to redeem himself in the public eye not only for a potential TV career but maybe for an eventual return to political life, too, most recently filled in for Dylan Ratigan in MSNBC's afternoon line-up last week, and has been a guest on shows like 'The Colbert Report,' 'Real Time with Bill Maher' and 'The Rachel Maddow Show.'

"He's got personality, he's got smarts, he's got an edge and he's got enough controversy about him that the name means something," Frank Sesno, a one-time CNN Washington bureau chief and current George Washington University professor told AP, adding, "He's a little like a car wreck. You can't avert your eyes. In the world of television, that isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially if it's a good car."

The question remains, though: Will viewers be willing to tune in to a car wreck on a daily basis, or would the novelty of seeing the scandal-plagued politician on TV wear off quickly? A May 2010 Marist Poll showed that almost two-thirds of New York voters don't want Spitzer to run for political office this year, though when polled about a future run in the state, 43 percent of voters said they would like him to run at a later date.

Still, while public figures like Tiger Woods, Jesse James and John Edwards continue to make headlines and draw viewers to tabloid TV shows about them, that doesn't necessarily mean viewers want to regularly see Spitzer (whose hooker fling, Ashley Dupre, now writes a sex and relationship advice column for the New York Post) dishing his political and social viewpoints on a daily basis.

"It would certainly get attention, but I don't know in the long run if it's going to make a lot of sense," says retired NBC News exec Bill Wheatley. "It's not a good idea, in my opinion, for a news division to associate itself with a guy who not only got himself in trouble with his sexual escapades but also wasn't a very effective governor."

"He's extremely bright," Wheatley said. "But having said that, come on. You can't find anything better than that?"