All Over Albany

George Pataki is running for President

As mentioned everywhere, George Pataki is running for president. His announcement video is embedded above.

In the video you'll no doubt immediately recognize the ample Pataki charm, his innate skill in summoning the ardor of the body politic, and his apparent inability to tie his own tie without help.

In the unlikely event* George Pataki actually becomes president, he'd be the fifth former New York governor to do so. He's the first New York governor to run since Nelson Rockefeller's serial and unsuccessful attempts in the 1960s (he would later flash some unique campaigning skills).

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* Unlikely events include, but are not limited to: the core of the Republican Party deciding Pataki wouldn't actually have been a Democrat in many other states, zombie apocalypse, Hillary Clinton being revealed as an alien, robot apocalypse, Jeb Bush deciding to instead open an art gallery with GWB called Bush Brothers Brushes, crow apocalypse.

The Pataki-for-president thing keeps going -- somehow

This George-Pataki-wants-to-run-for-president thing just won't go away -- probably because he keeps pushing it! He's now expected to announce... something... this weekend in Iowa. [AP/WP] [CNN] [Des Moines Register]

At Five Thirty Eight, Nate Silver has analyzed the Republican field and determined there's room for Pataki -- somewhere behind Mitt Romney, who's depicted as a gas giant (maybe we're reading the graph incorrectly).

All this talk is ridiculous. Because, as we said last year when there was low level hum about Pataki in 2012, and we'll repeat it now:

Why it's implausible that George Pataki will be President of the United States

photo: Flickr user Center for American Progress Action Fund

Walking the Hall of Governors at the Capitol

Where governors walked. And, just recently again, the rest of us.

Architecture, at its best, creates buildings that not only shelter us, but that reflect something of our values or ideals. Churches inspire our eyes to soar upwards, awed by dappled light through stained glass. Banks are designed (well, they used to be designed) to look solid, strong, unshakeable.

State capitols usually feature a central, light-filled rotunda for this very reason. It's a manifestation of our democratic values: government as something open, transparent, accessible, welcoming to all.

And then there's New York.

"Open, accessible and welcoming" are words few would apply to New York's state Capitol. You're more likely to hear things like "labyrinthine," "dark," "can't get anywhere unless you already know where you're going." If we see architecture as a representation of government, then, well, you might say we have the state capitol we deserve.

With that said, it's an absolutely beautiful building. And now we can see a little bit more of it.

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Pataki 2012? Really?

Presidential material?

There's buzz this week (OK, it's actually a low-level hum) about George Pataki running for president. Of the United States.

The push is off to an entertaining start. In talking about a potential run with ABC News, Pataki noted he was mayor of Peekskill at one time:

It was a challenging job, mayor of Peekskill, let me assure you. Twice the size of Wasilla.

Of course, that's a jab at Sarah Palin (her camp's response), of which Pataki added later in the interview:

It was hard for me to support Carl Paladino. And I did that. So certainly if the choice is between her and President Obama, I don't think I'd have any difficulty at all supporting Sarah Palin.

Fun.

Even so, the idea that it's plausible Pataki could actually become president is borderline crazy talk. So much so that we've compiled a few reasons why into a list:

"Why it's implausible that George Pataki will be President of the United States."

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New York is waiting

Voters say they're still unsure about KG -- and even more unsure about Harold Ford.

Or, so it would seem from a Siena poll out this week.

The poll reports that voters continue to want someone other than David Paterson to be governor, continue to like Andrew Cuomo, continue to be unsure about Kirsten Gillibrand, and continue to think the state is headed in the wrong direction.

A few highlights after the jump.

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Does she sound like a senator?

A Siena poll out this week reported that only 29 percent of respondents said they would like to vote for Kirsten Gillibrand for US Senate in November -- 45 percent said they preferred someone else. That's a trend that's pretty much held steady since KG was appointed to replace Hillary Clinton a year ago.

So why don't voters seem to warming to Gillibrand? The NYO's Reid Pillifant recently offered a theory that was new to us: it's KG's speaking voice. From his Pillifant's piece:

"Kirsten Gillibrand has what I would call a non-regional American young female's accent," wrote Dr. Bert Vaux, a sociolinguistics scholar at the University of Cambridge, who was asked by The Observer to analyze Ms. Gillibrand's public speaking. "Though I lack the phonetic expertise to put my finger on what exactly is involved in this, her voice quality is of the sort that is typically associated with pre-workforce-age white American females. Judging by the case of this woman, this speech pattern has now extended into higher age ranges."

Pillifant goes on to note that Harold Ford is an excellent public speaker. Here's Ford speaking at a MLK Day event this week (with Gillibrand in the background).

We always thought the KG/Tracy Flick comparison was cheap and wrong. But we have to admit that when we watched her "accept" the appointment last January, we thought: "It kind of sounds like she's running for student body president."

A few other bits about Gillibrand/Ford after the jump.

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State flu shot mandate cancelled, charges over ESP man cave, Paterson says Obama Admin cost state $1 billion, a big year for lady bugs

The state Department of Health has rescinded the flu shot mandate for health care workers. The DOH says there isn't enough vaccine to go around and the state would rather see the vax go to at-risk populations (young people, pregnant women). The Paterson Administration said the move was not related to the group of lawsuits filed over the mandate. [TU] [NYT] [NYDN]

The two men accused of being involved with the alleged "man cave" in the ESP have been hit with a bunch of charges that make the cave sound like some sort of stoner's paradise. Both men have pleaded not guilty. The attorney for one of the men said they were "shocked" to face charges over the cave "when there was actually a more publicized and egregious waste of tax money last spring as our state Senate sat around proud doing nothing while Rome burned." [Daily Politics] [AP/Troy Record] [TU]

A special meeting of the Troy city council turned into a bit of display as Democrats refused to show up and people ended up yelling at each other in front of TV cameras. Harry Tutunjian had called the meeting in an attempt to suspend three Democratic appointees accused of being involved with recent case of alleged voter fraud. [Troy Record] [TU]

Two alternate jurors from the Adrian Thomas trial say they would have voted "not guilty." [Fox23]

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The Blue State Sarah Palin

That's how The New Republic describes former NY lieutenant governor Betsy McCaughey (she was Pataki's LG from 1995-1998):

What kind of person drives normally staid wonks, including her own ideological teammates, to such stinging public reproof? Part of it is obviously the nature of her commentary. But beyond that, there is something about McCaughey herself that drives her critics wild--and has throughout much of her career. Friends posit it's her disconcerting blend of brains, beauty, and confidence. Detractors chalk it up to her rank dishonesty, narcissism, and lack of shame. Whatever the cause, the passion McCaughey inflames is familiar. Looking over the sweep of McCaughey's life, from her swift political rise (and fall) to her humble roots, from her straight-talking persona, fierce will, and blinding confidence to her gift for self-dramatization, head-turning looks, and embrace of the gender card, one sees precursors of a more recent conservative phenom. Replace the East Coast researcher's political-outsider, stats-wielding, pointy-head shtick with a political-outsider, gun-toting, populist one, and a striking parallel emerges: Betsy McCaughey is, in essence, the blue-state Sarah Palin.

McCaughey has been at the center of the pundit slapfest over the Obama's Administration's effort to reform healthcare. Her comments on the plan to include end-of-life counseling benefits in Medicare were tagged with a "pants on fire" designation by Politifact.

That TNR piece by Michelle Cottle includes a bunch of interesting/weird/WTF?/seriously? bits about McCaughey's time as NY LG -- including a great quote from former Pataki spokesperson Zenia Mucha: "How do you describe someone who is too bizarre to describe?"

[via]

photo: CIRD/WikiCommons

A portrait of Pataki

The official gubernatorial portrait of George Pataki was unveiled yesterday (here's a good picture).

NYT describes the portrait this way (emphasis added):

As with most portraits of past governors, Mr. Pataki's is regal. Wearing a dark gray suit and a thoughtful expression, he is resting his right hand on a banister. His left arm is cocked smartly, his hand on his hip. As opposed to a shelf of thick law books or a stately room in the Executive Mansion, the backdrop is the rolling hills of the Hudson River Valley.

You know, we keep looking at the portrait and all we can think is that Governor Pataki is scratching himself.

By the way: there's still no Mario Cuomo portrait -- despite Jack McEneny's threats.

screengrab: ny.gov

New Yorkers: let's start over

Where's the reboot button on this thing?

In the Siena poll release today, 54 percent of respondents said they wish they could throw out all the state legislators and start over. In fact, it sounds like New Yorker are longing for the good old days (which are apparently about the same time as Sterling Cooper's heyday).

From the poll....

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Poll respondents: when does Cuomo start?

Fair to say his public opinion ratings are, uh, less bad?

The Siena poll out today reports that the public's perception of David Paterson hasn't gotten any worse -- but it's not really any better, either.

Seventy-one percent of people polled said they still preferred "someone else" as governor in 2010. And people say they still prefer Eliot Spitzer to Paterson (21/11).

In hypothetical 2010 matchups, people say they prefer Andrew Cuomo to David Paterson 70-19 -- and Cuomo over Rudy Giuliani 53-41

A few more tidbits -- about same-sex marriage, Kirsten Gillibrand and tax caps -- after the jump.

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Pataki to take on Gillibrand?, Albany council pursuing ghost ticket scandal, Troy could be among first for stimulus money, cable bills going up, crustacean capers hot right now

The head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee has reportedly approached George Pataki about running against Kirsten Gillibrand in 2010. [AP/Troy Record]

State Democrats "familiar" with the situation say David Paterson is considering the return of Charles O'Byrne, who was his top advisor until O'Byrne resigned over tax problems. Paterson is reportedly frustrated by accusations that his administration is coming apart. [NYT] [NYP]

The Albany Common Council has scheduled sworn testimony in March from police department and union officials about the ghost ticket scandal. Officers called to testify will have to be paid three hours of overtime if the hearing doesn't occur during their regular shift. [TU]

The Schenectady police officer accused of being serially absent from patrol has been suspended without pay for a month. The officer topped the department's pay list last year after racking up enormous amounts of overtime. [Daily Gazette] [TU]

One of the Albany River Rats says "guys were flying around like ping-pong balls" as the team bus rolled over on the Mass Pike during its crash early Thursday morning. Four players and one of the team's broadcasters were hospitalized overnight. A spokesman for Yankee Trails, the company that owned the bus, says the driver at the wheel yesterday is an "exceptional" operator. Mass state police are investigating the cause of the crash -- ice appears to be the leading candidate. The Rats' game scheduled for tonight has been postponed. [TU] [Daily Gazette] [TU] [Troy Record]

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