All Over Albany

Kindergarten lessons for legislators

It's actually a very large playground.

After watching our esteemed state legislature squabble and whine itself toward another year's budget, we couldn't help thinking that perhaps our leaders had forgotten some fundamental life lessons. You know, nothing especially profound -- just the kind of stuff that any five-year-old would know.

So, here are a few kindergarten lessons that legislators and other elected officials might want to review before their next ride on the budget merry-go-round:

Be nice to others
One of the hold-ups in getting the budget done was the fight over congestion pricing for New York City, which was a pet project for Big Apple mayor Michael Bloomberg. But even with all the fussing, congestion pricing didn't happen. Why? Apparently, Mayor Mike wasn't nice enough to state legislators.

Everyone should get a turn
Budget negotiations ground to a halt earlier this week when Senate Democrats got upset because, in their view, the Republicans weren't letting them see budget bills ahead of the votes. It's no surprise that the Democrats got testy -- everyone hates a budget ball hog.

Don't take your ball and go home
Even if Senate Republicans weren't letting everyone play, that's no reason to stomp your feet, take your own ball and go home. But that's exactly what Senate Democrats did. Whining and pouting rarely endears us to others.

Name-calling isn't nice
After the Senate Democrats walked out, Joe Bruno snapped back, calling them "childish" and "very Spitzer like." After those comments, we half-expected Democrats to respond by saying, "We're rubber and you're glue, whatever you say bounces off us and sticks on you."

Do you ever get the feeling these people need a few minutes in the time-out chair?