Early and Often - New York Magazine's Politics Blog - Posts for October 1, 2006 - October 7, 2006

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October 1, 2006 - October 7, 2006

6:30 PM

Lovable Losers 

Pirro's Tomorrow Begins Today

Jeanine Pirro at the Indian Parade in Brooklyn last month,
when things were simpler.Courtesy Globe Photos

Beleaguered attorney-general candidate Jeanine Pirro was pleased to learn Thursday that a Quinnipiac University poll showed her trailing Andrew Cuomo by nineteen points. Pirro told the Times Herald-Record that her marital troubles have been good for the campaign: "It brought me up. Quinnipiac had me at 23 or 24 (points) a couple weeks ago, and I bounced up five. All the polls are moving in the right direction. I think that as New Yorkers start to realize there is only one candidate who's got the experience and the qualifications to do this job, they'll realize I am the person that should be elected."

Maybe she's on to something? Okay, of course she's not. But we like to dwell in the realm of the possible, so here's a theory: Today's reports that Pirro was not a part owner of "the family boat" (which would make it illegal for her to attempt to bug it) present the saga's first more-boring-than-crazy twist. It's lawyers doing their lawyering, not something that compels you to get up at 5 a.m., go to the Post's Website, and hit refresh over and over again. Which might mean the inanity portion of the program is winding down.

So after two weeks of public humiliation, she's no worse off in the polls than she was before the scandal broke. Pirro's name recognition has spread beyond people who watch NY1's "Inside City Hall" and now extends to most living mammals. Though trailing by nineteen points isn't anyone's idea of a good poll, it's encouraging for Pirro. There's still time.

5:30 PM

Wannabes 

Scary Hillary Book Out Just in Time for Halloween

20061005eandohrc.jpgWe wander lonely in this fallen world, a glaucoma of ignorance obscuring knowledge and wisdom. But there are those rare moments when the haze lifts and the light of truth shines through in all its radiant baptismal glory. We have experienced one of those rare moments, and we'd like to share it. There is a book — no, it's more than a book, an e-book — now available through a society of seers called the Conservative Party of New York State that promises to move us all to a richer understanding of ourselves and our nation. The journey won't be easy, but there's no other choice. Take heed.

The volume in question is called Hillary Clinton: What Every American Should Know.

Know this:

Some people fear nuclear attacks from third-world countries. Others fear a catastrophic collapse of the U.S. economy. But if you want to feel intense, gut-wrenching fear, consider this fact: There's a good chance that the Clintons will be back in the White House in 2009 … Today, the Second Coming of the Clintons looms large and terrifying, like the crest of a 100-foot tsunami. However, this book demonstrates that such a catastrophe, worldwide in its implications, is by no means inevitable.

Now, you might wonder, How can these people, these Clintons, bring about such a calamity? Apparently, if one of them is named Hillary, it can happen sooner and more terribly than you could ever imagine:

She has been a student protester; a defender of the Black Panthers; an advocate of "children's rights" as defined by radicals; a Watergate prosecutor; a teeth-grinding abortion advocate; an activist First Lady; a senator; a would-be president; and, above all, a militant control freak. In these roles, she's almost cookie-cutter perfect — a woman radicalized by the Sixties, who believes American society is inherently evil and wants to transform it — for its own good, of course — into a Scandinavian-type socialist state.

Scandinavia. The Sixties. Teeth Grindingly Freakish Control. We'll spare you, for now, the convincing chapters recounting the Clintons' many decades of collaborative misdoing: Filegate, Travelgate, Galgate, Whitewater. It's all documented in page upon terrifying page. Let's fast-forward to the present day and The Hillary's current plans:

For the state:

As she has indicated many times, Hillary supports greater and greater government involvement in the lives of Americans. In It Takes a Village, her book on child-rearing, she equates African tribes with American cities — and argues that the state should assume a primary role in raising our children.

For the family:

When gay rights activists and sympathetic Leftists began to pressure the United Way, private firms, and schools to de-fund the Boy Scouts of America because they refused to permit open homosexuals to be Scoutmasters, Senator Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) proposed a bill that would allow federal funds to be withheld from public schools that bar the Boy Scouts from using their facilities, Hillary voted for the homosexuals and against the Boy Scouts.

For the Democratic process itself:

On February 17, 2005, Hillary Clinton joined with Left-wing Senator Barbara Boxer in introducing the Count Every Vote Act, a hodge-podge of so-called "reforms" backed by extreme liberal groups such as People for the American Way. In a statement posted on her Web site, Senator Clinton said: "Voting is the most precious right of every citizen, and we have a moral obligation to ensure the integrity of our voting process." Ensuring that integrity means, among other things, allowing millions of convicted murderers, rapists, armed robbers, and other violent offenders to vote. You can be sure that a vast majority of those currently barred from federal elections would vote for her in the 2008 election. That's why the Count Every Vote Act states that all reforms must be in place by 2006.

And that's only a glimpse. Read this e-book, understand its message, take up its mission to stop The Hillary before it's too late.

As the authors say in their heraldic final passage: "Without a book such as this, few people would ever know what Hillary Clinton is about."

Download the book.

3:40 PM

Payback 

Moguls Give It Up For Their Favorite Pols

Business moguls may be of one mind when it comes to chasing money, power, and trophy spouses, but they are varied in their political passions. Some billionaires — Ronald Perelman, George Steinbrenner, Donald Trump — steer their yachts in local waters. Others — Rupert Murdoch, Leonard Lauder, Stephen Schwartzman — try to influence distant races, channeling support toward candidates whose success is deemed vital to the health of their parties and, presumably, to said moguls' bottom lines. Here's a look at where local captains of commerce have been tossing their bucks.

Leonard Blavatnik, chairman, Access Industries
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee: $26,700
HillPac: $5,000
As of late August, Hillary Clinton's PAC had raised $2.3 million this election cycle.

Michael Bloomberg, mayor, City of New York; founder, Bloomberg LP
John Sweeney for Congress: $4,200
Sweeney, a Republican incumbent who represents the upstate Twentieth District, is leading in the polls against challenger Kirsten Gillibrand.

Edgar Bronfman Sr., former CEO, Seagram Co. Ltd.
Edgar Bronfman Jr., chairman and CEO, Warner Music Group
Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee: $15,000
Harold Ford Jr. for Tennessee: $1,000
Ford, a Democrat, is running against GOP incumbent and Senate majority leader Bill Frist. If he wins, Ford will become the South's first black senator since Reconstruction.

Barry Diller, chairman and CEO, InterActiveCorp
InterActive Corp Political Action Committee (a.k.a. IACPAC): $1,656
Diller's right-leaning PAC has raised $92,000 since the end of August.

Charles Dolan, founder and chairman, Cablevision Systems Corp.
Ned Lamont for Senate: $2,100
Lamont, an antiwar Democrat, upset longtime incumbent Joe Lieberman in the Connecticut primary. Lieberman is now running as an independent against Lamont and Republican Alan Schlesinger.
Mike DeWine for U.S. Senate: $2,100
DeWine, an incumbent Republican from Ohio, is in a tight contest against Democratic representative Sherrod Brown.

David Geffen, CEO, Dreamworks SKG
John Hall for Congress: $2,100
Hall, a musician and environmental activist, is trying to unseat four-term GOP incumbent Sue Kelly.
Harold Ford Jr.: $2,100

Carl C. Icahn, founder, Icahn Partners
Shelley Berkley for Congress: $3,000
Berkley, a Nevada Democrat, is running for her fifth term in the House.
Solutions America PAC: $5,000
Rudy Giuliani's Republican PAC had raised $2.3 million as of the end of August.

Evelyn and Leonard Lauder, executives, Estée Lauder Companies
Joe Lieberman for Senate: $5,300
Spitzer-Paterson 2006: $20,000

Rupert Murdoch, chairman, News Corp.
National Republican Senatorial Committee: $7,500
Friends of Hillary: $4,200

Ronald Perelman, chairman, MacAndrews & Forbes Holdings Inc.
Chris Chocola for Congress: $4,200
Republican incumbent Chocola is trying to save his House seat in Connecticut.
National Republican Congressional Committee: $15,000

Stephen Schwarzman, chairman, CEO, and co-founder, the Blackstone Group
Volunteer PAC: $5,000
Republican senator Bill Frist chairs this PAC, which recruits and supports Republican candidates.
Friends of Patrick J. Kennedy Inc.: $4,200
The Democratic congressman is trying to hold on to his seat following a visit to rehab in May.

George Steinbrenner, owner, New York Yankees
Phyllis Busansky for Congress: $1,000
Democrat Busansky is looking to fill the congressional seat of retiring Republican Michael Bilirakis. She is running against Bilirakis's son Gus.
Spitzer-Paterson 2006: $15,000

The Tisch Family (Joan, son Jonathan, and nephew Andrew), executives, Loews Corp.
Friends of Joe Lieberman: $7,600
Harold Ford Jr. for Tennessee: $6,300

Donald Trump, chairman, the Trump Organization
Jeanine Pirro for Attorney General: $20,000
Andrew Cuomo for Attorney General: $10,000

Find out who your favorite mogul donated to at the Federal Election Commission.

Jon Steinberg

1:25 PM

Scandalabra 

Get a Handle on the Page Scandal

Those of you who take breaks from news-gathering to sleep and eat may have missed the latest Foley-Reynolds-Fordham-Hastert scandal action. Fear not. We've got you covered.

Besieged National Republican Congressional Committee chair and alleged Foley-IM-cover-up-er Tom Reynolds is now officially losing his bid for reelection. Bloggers in his upstate district were upset that Democrat Jack Davis didn't pounce on Reynolds last week. Instead, Davis followed the party strategy of hanging back while the Republicans flail around hopelessly.

Speaking of flailing, here's a video of Reynolds's press conference Wednesday — have a towel handy to wipe the sweat off your screen. And here's a snippet from the statement of resignation released Thursday by Reynolds's chief of staff, Kirk Fordham. He pretty much blamed speaker Dennis Hastert.

Scott Palmer, Hastert's chief of staff, claims, "What Kirk Fordham said did not happen." The FBI will interview Fordham, perhaps to look into a promising lead courtesy of Matt Drudge. It was all just a prank.

As Reynolds's fortunes change, he's gone from the guy in charge of doling out money to congressional Republicans in tight races to an embattled incumbent who needs his own backup. Laura Bush shilled on Wednesday, and John McCain is scheduled to support Reynolds in Rochester on October 20.

Reynolds isn't the only upstate Republican hurting from Foley's fallout. Democratic challenger John Hall is dogging his opponent, GOP incumbent Sue Kelly, about whether she knew of Foley's actions. Kelly chaired the Congressional Page Board more than five years ago, and musician–environmental activist Hall is making sure voters know it.

"Rep. Foley's perverse actions may have taken place under Sue Kelly's watch," Hall said in a press release. "When it seems that so many others knew of Foley's lewd and entirely inappropriate behavior, why didn't Sue Kelly?" Hall continued. "And if she did know, why didn't she do anything to protect these children?"

Kelly responded: "I am a mother, a former teacher, and a grandmother. I have a strong record of protecting children. If anything had been brought to my attention, I would have acted very forcefully and immediately."

How far will the Foley infection spread? We don't know, but we're loving every tainted minute of it.

11:45 AM

Wannabes 

Bush Père Caught in Hillary's Speculation Tractor Beam

The admirably Hillary Clinton–obsessed blog JustHillary has transcribed an interview of Thursday's World News Tonight with former president George H.W. Bush (or "Badass 41" as they call him whenever he swings by Yale for Skull and Bones waterboarding parties). The chunk of interest regards Hillary's possible presidential bid, a subject that's apparently been bouncing around the former commander in chief's increasingly Grandpa Simpsonian noggin for quite some time.

Charlie Gibson: Do you think she's gonna run?

George H.W. Bush: [Pause] I've felt so up till now, but I'm not positive. But I don't get anything from him [Bill Clinton] on that … I don't know why I have this feeling maybe she won't, but if I had to bet my last buck on it, I'd say she would.

Gibson: She would run.

Bush: Mm-hmm.

Gibson: It's, it's going to be a fascinating election in 2008. I was thinking just yesterday, I don't think prior probably to … since Eisenhower-Stevenson, in '52, that we've gone into an election without a sort of natural candidate in one of the two parties. Want to handicap it?

Bush: Well, I — see, I wouldn't concede her [Hillary Clinton] the nomination. Again I — who am I to sit here talking about Democratic politics when I'm not even in Republican politics.

Gibson: Well, but you've shown a pretty good political acumen in your life.

Bush: Yeah, well, I have … little private opinions that are unsubstantiated by fact. But I think she's going to have a tough fight, and I don't know from who. I don't know Mark Warner. I think Evan Bayh and these are attractive younger guys, maybe not a lot younger than Hillary but young people who are ambitious, and think they'd be good presidents. And so I think the fight's just beginning. And I don't think it's a gimme for me, nor do I think that, that, necessarily that they can beat her.

Gibson: There's a lot of people who think that there's going to be a situation where one Democrat will emerge, and it would be that person v. Hillary.

Bush: Well I — I'm — I'm not surprised, that in essence is, I guess, what I'm trying to say here, not particularly articulately. Because I think, as the heat gets up, you'll see that happen …

Toward the end of the interview, former President Bush wondered, "You're on the TV, right, son? Do you know Jack Benny?" "Hell on heels, it's gotta be about 3 o'clock, what do ya say we open up the goddamn bar?" "Who's Hillary Clinton?" and "Glug," before slipping off into a deep peaceful slumber.

Read the rest of the interview.

9:45 AM

Briefing 

Going Down With the Ship

  • Jeanine isn't a part owner of the family boat, but her lawyer's not bugged. [NYDN]
  • Pirro polls: unscathed but still doomed. [Albany Times Union]
  • Cuomo invested in a supporter's hedge fund: vaguely shady behavior, but he'll have to work a lot harder if he wants to appear corrupt in this election. [NYT]
  • Kennedy and Lieberman, in finest Democratic tradition, have no idea what Democrat tradition is. [Hartford Courant]
  • State GOP head actually releases a list called "Top Ten Things NY Dems Should Do to Show They Actually Condemn Sexual Predation." Letterman writing gig awaits. [NYDN]
  • New Democratic leader in State Senate somewhat weirded out by news of strange new same-sex marriage issue. [NYT]
  • Bloomberg leads over 100 mayors from less cool places in anti-gun crusade. [NYP]
5:10 PM

Spot Check 

GOP's New Policy of Sexual Openness

Okay, you've finished painting your FREE TOM REYNOLDS signs. You've made your picnic lunch. And you're ready for the nine-hour drive to Buffalo. But which route to take? If you cut through northeast Pennsylvania, you'll be passing through portions of the Tenth Congressional District, host to this election cycle's second most depressing scandal.

In 2004, a woman accused four-term Republican congressman Don Sherwood of strangling her in his D.C. apartment. Sherwood claimed he was giving her a back rub. Last year, the victim, 29-year-old Cynthia Ore, filed a $5.5 million lawsuit, claiming the 64-year-old Sherwood assaulted her numerous times during a five-year relationship. Sherwood admits the affair happened, but he's denied the assault took place. He released this soul-eating apology to his constituents on Wednesday, prior to a debate with his opponent.

Watch the ad.

3:00 PM

Scandalabra 

Mom and Dad Got Fordham's Back

The age of the politicized child has come to an end. Long live the age of the politicized parent. James and Yvonne Fordham, the proud parents of Tom Reynolds's recently resigned chief of staff, Kirk Fordham, have reached out to Rochester's "R News" — the NY1 of Rochester — with assurance that their son wasn't part of any damn cover-up and sure as hell didn't try to cut a deal with ABC to keep Foley's sketchy IMs off the news. "I know he didn't attempt any cover-up," said James Fordham.

Well, that's that. Case closed, nation healed. Now can we please move on?

See a detailed time line of Fordham's political career. [Talking Points Memo]

2:45 PM

Scandalabra 

Pataki Picks Reynolds Over Pirro

Two days after bailing on a Jeanine Pirro rally, leaving her to scramble for a last-minute fill-in (her children), Governor George Pataki injected a dose of stiff in his spine and made good on his promise to attend a Buffalo fund-raiser for Pirro-esquely doomed representative Tom Reynolds on Wednesday. Laura Bush also appeared, so maybe Pataki just went to nudge up against the only person in his party whose approval rating is still above Mao Tse-tung's. Considering how dreary the Albany-Buffalo commute is, it's nice that he made the effort.

When asked about Reynolds's role in covering up Mark Foley's inappropriate page handling (which now seems to go back further and further), Pataki said:

"I can't say that because I don't know enough about the internal workings, and what e-mail went where. But the appropriate step was for Congressman Foley to resign, he did, he probably should have done it a long time ago. But I think the onus is on him, and that should be investigated."

A boring quote and now "onus" seems like a dirty word. Considering Pataki's innate ability to make everything dull, we wish he would have stayed home. And when Reynolds loses his election, Pataki's presidential campaign staff will wish for the same thing.

First Lady Appears in Support of Reynolds [AP]

1:10 PM

Attack of the Day 

GOP Rep Wants Rummy Out So He Can Stay In

20061005eandoshays.jpgConnecticut Republican representative Christopher Shays called for Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld's resignation on Wednesday. Shays, a longtime supporter of the Iraq war, is frustrated by misleading testimony given by Pentagon officials appearing before the House Government Reform subcommittee on national security, emerging threats, and international relations. Shays — who chairs the subcommittee and has traveled to Iraq fourteen times since the war began — joins a growing list of moderates in tough election fights trying to carve out the right position on the unpopular Iraq War.

"I am losing faith in how we are fighting this war," he told the Washington Post. "I believe we have to motivate the Iraqis to do more."

Tough stuff. And you thought Hugo Chavez could swing the rhetorical anvil. Shays offered his comments while waving a copy of Chicken Soup for the Scared Bush Supporter's Soul, which peaked Wednesday at 146,324 on Amazon.com sales rankings.


"GOP Lawmaker Calls for Rumsfeld to Quit" [AP]

11:55 AM

Lovable Losers 

John Spencer's Thousand-Yard Stare

With round-the-clock craziness roiling the Republican asylum, it's easy to lose track of an inmate or two. But then a candidate does something to bring the spotlight of questionable behavior back on himself.

Republican Senate hopeful John Spencer, a Vietnam vet who loves the smell of napalm in the morning so much he sprinkles it on his Cheerios, has released a statement calling on supporters to enlist in his undying fight against the VC in our midst, Hanoi Hillary Clinton.

In a "National Security Dispatch" (a.k.a. a campaign mailer) "Lt. John Spencer (USA-Vietnam)" let slip the dogs of war in language that might make even a Grenada-invasion reenactor like Dick Cheney a little squeamish.

"We are going to do exactly what I led my men to do when we were outnumbered in combat — target our fire for maximum efficiency and maximum effectiveness," the bad lieutenant entreats metaphorically (we hope).

"My friend, one thing I learned in combat is that nothing matters more than being able to count on the person standing by your side, and I am counting on YOU today." Now, hit the Paypal and give Lieutenant Spencer $20.

Even 35 years after the Vietnam, the caissons still roll, the bugles still blare, and the call to arms echoes across the purple mountains and fruited plains in the space between his ears.


"Clinton Opponent Uses Combat Images in Fundraising Appeal" [AP]

9:45 AM

Briefing 

Pirro's Graft, Alan's Sticky Fingers, Faso's Lightness of Being

  • She gives and she gives, and what does she get back? Only tears. As Westchester D.A., Jeanine doled out no-bid contracts to Rudy and Bernie. [NYP]

  • Callaghan claims Hevesi gave his wife a computer with state money — also a lamp. an ashtray, a paddle game, and the remote control. (That's all she needed.) [NYDN]

  • Alan "Worse Than Nixon" Hevesi's approval rating drops 8 percent. [Albany Times Union]

  • John Faso maintains hipster street cred with cool underground candidacy, not like that played-out overexposed Spitzer. [NYDN]

  • Representative Peter King says Mark Foley reminds him of a Catholic priest. Pope Benedict tells Catholics it's okay to kill Representative Peter King. [Newsday]

  • New York Republicans: Pirro is so last week; we've got a new scandal-plagued failure to rally behind. [NYT]

  • Cuomo makes quick "I'm not the leaker" statement before embarking on six-week hiking trip in Alaska. [Newsday]

  • Lieberman, using fun "Joe Logic," says Lamont's Iraq war stance is bad for Israel. [NYT]

  • Jim McGreevey's memoir is hot in another sense. [Star-Ledger]
  • 5:45 PM

    Scandalabra 

    Reynolds's Fall Guy

    Consequences of the Mark Foley fiasco are getting closer to upstate incumbent representative Tom Reynolds. His chief of staff, Kirk Fordham, resigned this afternoon after admitting to asking ABC News to hold off on reporting the porny instant messages sent by Foley to a former House page.

    Fordham was Foley's chief of staff for a decade and remained friends with the recently gay, recently alcoholic former congressman.

    "I have resigned today from Congressman Tom Reynolds's office," Fordham said in a statement released to the press. "It is clear the Democrats are intent on making me a political issue in my boss's race, and I will not let them do so."

    Partisan slime-wielding even in abject career-scorching disgrace! Fordham should send his resume to Katherine Harris. She'll appreciate a chief of staff who loves trading media conspiracy theories.


    "N.Y. Rep's Aid Tried to Hush It Up" [NYDN]

    5:25 PM

    Wannabes 

    Bloomberg, Do That Voodoo That You Do So Well

    Mayor Michael Bloomberg just produced 70,000 new New Yorkers after winning a successful appeal of U.S. Census Bureau population estimates. That's 70,000 new people who have no idea who Alan Hevesi is. Quite a feat. But Bloomberg isn't just working his strange magic locally, he's spell-casting throughout the entire region. Crain's Insider (no link — it's for insiders) reports that the Gandalf of Fifth Avenue is dispatching an important helper hobbit, Korrine Kubena, a director of government affairs, to the distant kingdom of Connecticut, where she will aid a less able sorcerer, Joe Lieberman.

    Bloomberg has been building IndePubliCrat synergy all over the place: in California, where Arnold Schwarzenegger got so gushy he called him "my soul mate," and now with embattled Joe, whom he formally endorsed in August. Bloomberg will hold a fund-raiser for the Connecticut senator at his townhouse on November 1, and he'll appear at a Chicago event with Lieberman's wife, Hadassah, on October 25. Yesterday, Lieberman's opponent, rich-but-not-Bloomberg-rich antiwar candidate and Democratic primary winner Ned Lamont, dumped $500,000 of his own money into his campaign war chest.

    The well-funded Lieberman is increasingly drawing support from Republicans, sparking criticism from the left that he's a little more than a cheerful lapdog for Bush-Cheney. On Tuesday, he worked the sidewalks of Fairfield, Connecticut, with former mayor Ed Koch, who while not technically a Republican hasn't been recognizable as a Democrat for about a quarter century. Last Thursday in Washington, Tom Kuhn, president of the Edison Electric Institute and President Bush's college roommate, co-sponsored a Lieberman fund-raising luncheon. Now there is speculation that Lieberman may caucus with the Republicans if he wins reelection. Mayor Mike may be dabbling in the black arts.

    2:00 PM

    Scandalabra 

    Jeanine Pirro Drags the Kids Into It

    Jokes about people being from central casting aside, the newly unveiled Pirro kids absolutely meet expectations. There's the overachieving daughter with the vengeful smile and the glum "yes, you are getting a haircut" son. What's weird is that beyond the normal family photo op, they were really at Tuesday's Pirro fund-raiser to offer an endorsement of their mom. By the look on young Alex's face, perhaps the appearances were conceded to only after complex negotiations — "Okay, fine, you can go to the Tool concert and I'll overlook your bong if you do me this one favor."

    It's a similar but much sadder version of Howard Dean's "family support" moment in the 2004 presidential primary. To prove his wife, Judy, cared that he was running for president, Dean had to produce her at an Iowa rally. That moment — an early sign of Dean's ultimate unelectability — offered a progressive vision of the political family, an apolitical spouse reluctant to set aside her life and craft a flattering public persona she saw as potentially inauthentic. The Pirros broke a rockier patch of ground, but unlike another New York Republican who flubbed his kidsploitation moment yesterday, the Pirros did it faux-triumphantly. And they did so as one. Minus Dad, of course, who was probably at Scores.

    12:35 PM

    Wannabes 

    Hillary: We're Just Not That Into Her

    Why obsess over baseball playoffs when you can make speculation a year-round sport by assessing Hillary's presidential prospects? Today's WNBC/Marist poll offers the usual Heisenbergian weirdness surrounding Her Hillness. She's exactly where she needs to be and nowhere at all. The new poll puts her at 35 percent among Democrats, beating Al Gore who has 16 percent and isn't running. Former Virginia governor Mark Warner, the conservative southern rich guy some feel can challenge Hillary, is in a 2 percent dead heat with Tom Daschle; Bill Richardson, Wes Clark, and every other living Democrat who isn't James Traficant are polling at 1 percent.

    You don't have to be a statistician to get the sense that Democrats are more resigned to Hillary's nomination than hopeful for it. Just over half (51 percent) of voters nationwide would rather she didn't run and only about a quarter think she can win, which conforms to a recent poll of New York voters. So we have an assumed nominee with no expectation of victory. Should Democrats start pricing Spitzer 2012 bumper stickers?


    "National Poll: Campaign 2008" [WNBC/Marist]
    "CBS Poll on Hillary Clinton" [WBEN]

    9:45 AM

    Briefing 

    Suffer the Little Children

    • AJ and Meadow drummed into service at Jeanine rally; Pataki appears via satellite from fallout shelter. [NYDN]
    • Oops, wrong witch hunter. [Journal News]
    • Laura Bush, the only Republican who isn't disgraced or despised, comes to the aid of disgraced, despised Tom Reynolds. [Buffalo News]
    • Reynolds expands strenuously pursued stupidity defense regarding aid's role in Foley craziness. [Albany Times Union ]
    • 38 percent of Americans still live in Stone Age. [NYDN]
    • Connecticut races descend — or de-Foley-ate — into scandal-related mudslinging. [Hartford Courant]
    • Majority Leader Bruno has bad day at the track. [AP]
    • Bronx borough prez is a total brownnoser. [NYS]
    5:45 PM

    Lovable Losers 

    ‘That Voter ’ Spotted Wearing Faso T-Shirt at Faso Rally

    No one would argue that it's easy being John Faso. Certainly, not the GOP nominee for governor himself. He's a conservative Republican in a berry-blue state, he's running against a man who wants to be the next FDR, and he had to stage a scrappy underdog campaign to get this terrible gig in the first place. Kierkegaard described such an endeavor as a teleological suspension of the ethical that places faith in the absurd. Great if you chomp baguettes and wear berets. Not so hot if you're a supply-sider with anchorman hair.

    And, yet, Faso struggles on. It's what teleology suspenders do.

    This week, at an American Legion post in Colonie, New York, Faso opened the "Tax Relief Now" tour, highlighting his signature issue of stimulating the lagging upstate economy by cutting taxes and scaling back intrusive government regulation. Views may differ on the policy, but considering that Faso has less name recognition than the third band on a three-band bill at Arlene's Grocery on a Tuesday, the plan could use a catchier name. Like one of these:

    • The Faso-Nation tour
    • The Fas, Ass, and Grass tour
    • The Hey, I'm Over Here. To the Right. No, WAY to the Right tour
    • The Yeah, I'm Kinda Crazy With the Tax Cuts But Who Needs Schools and Roads Anyway tour
    • The Render Unto Spitzer tour
    • The Back in Black tour (Already taken by AC/DC)
    • The Lisa Santangelo! Appearing Here! One Night Only! tour

    2:30 PM

    Lovable Losers 

    He Learned It By Watching Joycelyn Elders

    Chris Migliaccio, 23-year-old Republican from Queens, may not succeed in his maiden voyage into electoral politics (a long-shot bid for the State Assembly), but he has stumbled into his very first political mini-imbroglio. Competing in an American Parliamentary Debate Association tournament late last month at Smith College, the Cardozo law student launched into an impassioned plea for the teaching of masturbation in sex-ed classes, outlining his plan to extend a helping hand to frustrated kids and touching on more general themes in the field ("a friend of mine just got chlamydia," he says in an aside at one point).

    Of course, this was all in the theoretical domain of a college debate competition and Chris doesn't suggest we practice what his debate-self preaches. But in the YouTube (or, in this case Google Video) age, where meaning is abstracted from context, it looks pretty bad, like the saddest campus comic on earth who's not Dane Cook.

    This might not be so safe for work.

    GOP Candidate's Hands-on Politics [NYDN]

    1:45 PM

    In the Magazine 

    Arianna, Bo Dietl, Conspirators

    Arianna: The Human Blog.Photograph by Chris Buck

    Arianna Huffington has a new book about fearlessness and a new incarnation as a self-help guru.

    Bo Dietl offers P.I. services to Jeanine Pirro.

    Conspiracy theorists, rejoice! More records from the investigation into the crash of TWA Flight 800 are on the way.

    12:05 PM

    Scandalabra 

    Reynolds Cowers Behind Innocent Children

    Embroiled in the ever-expanding Mark Foley e-creep scandal, National Republican Congressional Committee chairman and upstate representative Tom Reynolds is defending his own role in the increasingly tawdry affair. Reynolds knew of the Foley e-mails last spring, and though he says he told his boss Dennis Hastert, he did not follow up with law-enforcement officials.

    At a press conference yesterday, Reynolds redirected criticism to Hastert. The excellent blog Buffalo Geek covers it all with gleeful disgust.

    But sometimes it's not what you say, it's who you say it with:

    We can only assume that after Reynolds finished fielding questions from reporters, the children burst into a beautiful rendition of the Eagles' country-rock chestnut "Desperado."

    12:00 PM

    Scandalabra 

    Hillary Clinton Belongs to the World

    Hillary Clinton: thunder in the Senate chamber, lightning on the stump. The closer we get to her, the more she makes us see, to paraphrase Roberta Flack. Yet, as with any star that sets the firmament ablaze, get too close and you might get burned. So it was with one sad little man from Vermont. Chris Stewart, a speechwriter for Republican House candidate Martha Rainville, resigned yesterday after he was discovered to be stealing material from Hillary's speeches. The offenses were rooted out by the blog Reason and Brimstone.

    Rainville's Website is no longer up, but Reason and Brimstone quotes the goods:

    Martha Rainville: "Briefly, I strongly believe that our present system of energy is weakening our national security, hurting our pocketbooks and threatening our children's future."

    Hillary Clinton: "Our present system of energy is weakening our national security, hurting our pocketbooks, violating our common values and threatening our children's future. "

    Hillary claims she's been making serious inroads with Republicans in and out of New York. She's more right than she thought.


    "Rainville's Stolen Ideas" [Reason and Brimstone]

    10:00 AM

    Briefing 

    Keep Hope Alive

    • Jeanine Pirro: Never Scared. [NYT]
    • "Oh, honey, you shouldn't have. A courtroom sketch of the guy you're sleeping with". [NYP]
    • Republicans can't get enough of that "Pirro magic." [Newsday]
    • Al's other women's lawyer husband says Jeanine didn't get him favorable plea deals. [Journal News]
    • Next on the Feds' wish list: Bernie's financial records. [NYP]
    • Hevesi says no to debates, goes into hibernation until election. [NYDN]
    • Local lawmakers hate the new coke. [NYT]
    • "Hey, that's Judge Psycho to you, pal!" [NYT]
    • The Steve Prefontaine of New York politics goes after the city's lone GOP congressman. [NYS]
    4:45 PM

    Scandalabra 

    Paging Mr. Reynolds

    As the smut thickens in the Mark Foley e-harassment scandal, New York's Tom Reynolds, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee and representative of the 26th District, has been dragged into the drama. Reynolds knew of the Foley e-mails last spring and not only did nothing to expose his series-of-tubes abusing buddy but also accepted a $100,000 donation Foley made to the NRCC in July. That money is, at best, "overfriendly."

    Local lefty blogger Daily Gotham wonders if the cover-up is ready to "explode, right in Tom Reynolds' face." Not the Faso-esque metaphor we'd choose, but descriptive nonetheless.

    2:30 PM

    Attack of the Day 

    Democrats Dread Short-Term Results of Long-Term Strategy

    Democrats, save what little hair you have left after reading Matt Bai's New York Times Magazine profile of Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean. You'll need something to yank after realizing that there are ten congressional districts in New York where Democrats are running either against incumbent Republicans or for an open seat. Winning these races is unlikely, especially with Dean off fomenting liberal revolution among the change-hungry peoples of Utah and Alaska.

    Hillary took a shot at Dean's 50-State Strategy last Friday at a DNC fund-raising event. "The [Republican National Committee] is pouring tens of millions of dollars into races and we're not matching that. We're doing investments, you know, in ground [operations] and other efforts which will be very beneficial, but the RNC has about $60 million to $70 million waiting to drop on our candidates."

    An aide stepped in to extract the talons of truth and pull back to a more cautious "Well, we did say something nice about the DNC" position, but the Yawper can read between the lines in Newsday. The DNC elected Dean in 2005 on the strength of the 50-State Strategy; for Dean to keep his job, the Republicans must lose the majority.

    1:05 PM

    Survey Says 

    New Yorkers Too Cool for Scandals

    Those twin banditos of the public trust — husband-bugging attorney-general candidate Jeanine Pirro and wife-ferrying state comptroller Alan Hevesi — continue their black reign of terror over newspapers and bloggers, but a Marist poll released Friday suggests that the citizenry at large is unfazed.

    The Pirro numbers are surprising. Of registered voters in the state, 72 percent have heard of Pirro's domestic troubles. Of those voters, only 35 percent are "troubled" by it, even though 42 percent of them believe she acted unethically. Such a public fiasco (Wiretaps! Bernie Kerik! Boats! Affairs!) would likely skew margins in any other state, but Democrat Andrew Cuomo's lead of 54-31 hasn't changed much in the last two weeks. Voters are just that jaded.

    Hevesi's Teflon shield is even thicker. Only 39 percent of registered voters have heard of the Hevesi Ride-a-Long program, and only 36 percent of those who knew about it cared. Half of them were not bothered at all. Hevesi leads Republican challenger Chris Callaghan by 30 points.

    10:30 AM

    Spot Check 

    Ads Go High-Concept in the Twentieth District

    The race in the upstate Twentieth Congressional District between incumbent Republican John Sweeney and his antiwar opponent, Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand, will likely fit squarely into the rout category come November 7. Despite ethics issues — stemming from a ski trip to New York, the exchange of legislative assistance for campaign contributions, and the hiring of his wife as a campaign fund-raiser — Sweeney enjoys a double-digit lead. But the race has produced two of this year's most fascinating ads — locally or nationally.

    The Gillibrand ad features actor David Strathairn playing himself playing Edward R. Murrow. Surprisingly, this isn't exactly a Hollywood liberal helicoptering into a race he has no business being involved in. Strathairn lives in the district, and this is his first political ad.

    Sweeney's ad also uses a local constituent but to less meta, if more confusing, effect:

    Quite a forgiving soul. Sweeney voted for the war and he's a pro-Bush Republican (two facts omitted). And yet, it's a weirdly honest representation of American sentiment about the war. You have to admire a political ad that attempts to muster support based on such ambivalence. It recalls the Smoking Collegiate Republican, a classic Lyndon Johnson ad from 1964.

    9:30 AM

    Briefing 

    The Money Pit

    • The Feds are now looking into Jeanine Pirro's financial records. Also allege she started the Chicago fire, is responsible for the Black Dahlia murder, and outsourced all the sewing for her Olympus Fashion Week collection. [NYT]
    • She paid for it in tears; he paid for it in large monthly sums of cash. [NYP]
    • Fade out the Frank Sinatra, cue up the Gretchen Wilson: Al's illegitimate daughter offers support from Oklahoma. [NYDN]
    • Westchester locals offer bland "eh, whatever" on Pirro scandal. [Newsday]
    • Senator Pothole says Jeanine's buried. [NYP]
    • Clintons dip into rarely tapped "jock" pool of celebrity love. [AP]
    • Pataki's last 100 days: fewer hospitals, more charter schools. [NYS]
    • Bloomberg has a good hype man.[NYDN]
    • Faso, looking for something — anything — that might work, continues tying Spitzer to Hevesi. [AP]
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