Winners and Losers From a Wild Political Week
Political junkies, especially those who follow New York politics, must be in their bliss as we end this week. Time to tally up how all the players did, starting with an easy one...
• Joe Bruno – LOSER – The former state senate majority leader was hit today with an eight-count federal corruption indictment. He didn’t get to gloat very long about the fall of his enemy Eliot Spitzer. Say what you will about Albany; there is some dark political karma to be found there.
• Kirsten Gillebrand – WINNER – But maybe not as much as one might think. Sure, she got the appointment to replace Hillary Clinton as New York’s junior senator, and yes, she’s from upstate, and yes, she’s a woman. But in his effort to find support upstate, Governor Paterson might have picked someone who is flat-out unacceptable downstate. The conservative, pro-NRA democrat has only a year to sell herself to skeptical liberals and gun control advocates before the campaign to win a full senate term gets underway (and I’m wondering how having a beaming Alfonse D’Amato standing right behind her at the press conference today is going to help in that regard). Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, who lost her husband in the LIRR massacre, was promising to oppose Gillebrand in the primary even before that news conference was held. Gillebrand’s a winner for the week, but our new senator has her work cut out for her in the long term.
• Gov. David Paterson – LOSER – He botched the Senate appointment. Political columnists are already labeling him “diminished” over the way things unfolded these past two months, and his poll numbers are falling. If Senator Gillebrand doesn’t turn into a plus for state democrats, and soon, he’s got his own uphill battle if he wants a full term as governor. Which brings us to:
• Andrew Cuomo – WINNER – That’s right, I said winner. There was no way he was going to get the Senate appointment, because it was going to go to a woman, so I doubt if he's crying over that. And now with Paterson weakened by the experience, and the state’s finances in such bad shape, Cuomo probably sees him as ripe for his own primary challenge next year. Cuomo isn’t heading to the Senate, but if he keeps up his strong performance as attorney general, he could well be mounting a major challenge for the governor’s mansion.
• Caroline Kennedy – WINNER – I know. That’s even stranger than Cuomo. But here’s my thinking: even though she surpassed Rudy Guiliani for the title of Worst Senate Candidate Ever, even though she tarnished the Kennedy aura with her remarkably inarticulate and charm-less performance as a candidate, and even though the whole ugly mess ended up with rumors of tax problems and marital difficulties… she’s a winner because in NOT being appointed to a position she was uniquely unqualified to fill, she saved herself two more years of further embarrassment and further damage to her family’s legacy. She gets to go back to private life, which, few would argue against at this point, is the best place for her.
• Mayor Bloomberg – LOSER – His early, unwavering support for Caroline Kennedy makes him look silly in retrospect. And with the Senate appointment going to someone whose pro-gun views would make her feel at home in Oklahoma, the fervently anti-gun Bloomberg (it might not be his top issue, but it’s up there) looks like he’s been dissed. And we know how much he hates that.
As always, should any of these predictions/observations prove wrong or just ridiculous, the secretary will disavow all knowledge of my actions. This blog will self-destruct in five seconds.
Comments: 15
Cuomo, Patterson, and Kennedy all LOSERS! Actually...hes not on the list....but, Obama too!
IM THINK EVERYBODY IS A WINNER BECAUSE THEY AT LEAST TRY TO RUN. WHAT HAPPEND TO SMALLVILLE ON SUNDAY'S AT 5PM
IM THINK EVERYBODY IS A WINNER BECAUSE THEY AT LEAST TRY TO RUN. WHAT HAPPEND TO SMALLVILLE ON SUNDAY'S AT 5PM
I'M IN TOTAL AGREEMENT WITH YOU. WE HAVE 3 SONS, CAN WE ADOPT YOU ALSO?
I wouldn't call her a winner or a loser. Just a smart cookie. She didn't want to to show her financials. Lee....whoknowsmore
Let me guess....you people believe in fairies sprinkling fairy dust as well. Wake up!!
Gillibrand - "WINNER". In less than 48 hours she has already morphed from moderately conservative to moderately liberal under pressure from the usual suspects in the downstate Democrat establishment. Give it another two weeks and she'll flip-flop on the bailout and on gun ownership. By next year this time, Carolyn Maloney will be talked down from a primary challenge by party bosses. Gilly will win the general as a leftist, because this is, after all, NEW YORK. Why the quotes on winner? She's next in a long line of politicians to trade her values for political success. (I know - nothing new there.)
Bloomberg - LOSER, but not for backing one. Everyone knows he's an Upper East Side elitist and few will care. His Achilles heal will be the way he pulled an end-around on an entire electorate in maneuvering for his third term bid. First waiting until it would be too late for a referendum, then arranging with Ms. Quinn a Council vote that would pass but with enough nays to give the outcome an authentic appearance. Many voters who would have supported him in a direct appeal to them by referendum will punish him for this backstage caper when they finally have their voice.
Paterson - WINNER, if I'm correct about Gillibrand. The solidification of her support will benefit him for making "the right choice" afterall. The Cuomos and the Kennedy's will bump heads trying to gang up on him, as he gets all the party help he'll need from the grateful Clintons. Giuliani will come close to taking him down in the election, but this is, after all, NEW YORK. This Paterson guy may be stupid like a fox!
Cuomo - LOSER, if I'm right about Paterson as a winner. He was only likable to New Yorkers as opposed to Caroline Kennedy and her painfully inept candidacy. But his effort will melt against Pat's political skills and personality traits. And their likability contrast is sharper than day vs. night.
Caroline Kennedy and Joe Bruno - WHO CARES?!!!
Chuck Schumer - Perhaps the biggest winner. Finally, everyone will KNOW he's NY's senior Senator!
I like her and would have liked her to get the senate seat. Kirsten has her work cut out for her. We'll have to wait and see how this plays out....Lee *tiredofthepoliticalstuffjustdoyourjob
Lee must have understood my intent re: "Carolyn Maloney", because I did indeed mean McCarthy, of Long Island. What I'm saying is that she's a single-issue candidate who the party bosses will consider a distraction if Gillibrand catches on. Democrats try to avoid primary battles.
Biggest winner in my book: JIM WATKINS...
Biggest loser: MR. G.
I did understand what you meant, and you are right in saying that the dems. try to avoid more battles. I say Ms. McCarthy would have been a better choice for junior senator....LEE
Caroline really annoys me. I must say for a 51 year old "girl"...(she was cute when she was small) to actually seek the senate seat sickens me. The Kennedy name is almost dead. As for her celebrity father, what is his claim to fame -the Bay of Pigs and THAT was a total failure. And how long was he Prez, only 3 years?
The Kennedy legacy is dying out. What is it about death and dying that makes this family so popular. We do have sympathy for Teddy, however, but he was no saint on the bridge. Poor JFK JR., his ashes actually hit the water.
notafanoftheKennedyclananymore
This guy, who we all know got his job by default,
because, Spitzer got caught with his pants down...He also made a special point of announcing to the world (of course, before it was leaked out), that both he and his wife had "affairs", while they were separated. Now he has lied thru his teeth and is growing a long nose, in spite of himself. I would never vote for him....true loser...
Also, the new Treasury Sec., didn't he owe the government money, that he claimed that he forgot to pay (am I correct here)?
*wheredotheygettheseineptmenordotheyjustpretend
tobeclueless
No further comment.
I believe in angels. I think there is one on everyone's shoulder or car hood. And I'm not kidding, otherwise I would have been in some major accidents over the years. I believe that there is some kind of fate or just timing. Someone in my life died, and this person was an angel. No longer here, I believe that the spirit lives on in my memories, and daily life. If it were not for a set of unusual circumstances, I might not have ever known her.
Think about what I just said.
You are talking about fairies and fairy dust in jest. Not the same thing dear. Lee
believeinsomething