At least for the Governor Race, throw out those normal general election playbooks.
With Carl Paladino shocking the republican establishment with his outsider victory and tea party push, all bets are off.
Paladino pulled it off, Espada goes down, and Rangel cruises to Victory
|Rick Lazio and Bill Perkins are in serious trouble going into Tuesday’s primary
|Let’s start with Republican candidate for Governor Rick Lazio.
How could he not see the huge 200 mile an hour “momentum” train running over him and having a nice cushion landing at the footsteps of rival Carl Paladino.
Lazio tried to ignore Paladino, to run out the clock, a sort of “Rose Garden” strategy. However mistake number one, to use such a tactic, you should be well liked by the base, and let’s face it, support for Lazio with the Republican Party Faithful has been luke-warm at absolute best. Lazio’s strategy may still barely work, but not if you believe the latest poll. It is great news for Paladino, and horrible for Lazio.
Rick are you running scared? Big Mistake to turn down the NY1 debate
|Ten years ago, I was at the Buffalo Senate Debate where a relative unknown at the time, Suffolk County Congressman Rick Lazio walked across the stage and stuffed a campaign pledge in front of Hillary Rodham Clinton.
But that move, perceived as bullying, locked his place in political history as an example of what not to do during a debate with a female candidate. Clinton's support among women voters was solidified. Lazio may now again be in a circular firing squad of one.
Ebonics, a 12 year old selling drugs, and the Moynihan Report
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At the time, he was called everything but a Child of God, but occasionally I think about the late Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan.
45 years ago this summer, then an Assistant Secretary of Labor, Moynihan famously warned that the collapse of black family life would mean rising chaos and crime in the black community. Critics said he was blaming “the victim.” 
Paterson, Giuliani, and the matter of the NY Yankee Tickets
|Much has been made of the recommendation from the Commission on Public Integrity and it’s suggestion that outgoing governor David Paterson should pay up to a 93,000 fine for World Series NY Yankee tickets from last year.
The issue is whether Mr. Paterson violated ethics laws by having aides solicit the five tickets, with a value of $425 each. 
Countdown Clocks. Score one for Good Government
|In a City of 8 million people, score one for common sense, and Good Government.
Do you ever think about the image of the Big Apple?
You know, NYC is “the best,” but the truth is, at times other cities outshine us.
Is Bloomberg starting to wear out his welcome?
|It was bound to happen. Third term Blues for Bloomberg.
Voter fatigue is starting to show for New York’s Mayor. A new poll finds his approval rating has dropped below 50 percent for the first time in five years. That’s according to a Marist College Poll released Tuesday.
Mayor Mike makes the case, on the Mosque and Caroline Giuliani
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When a Mayor comes down on the wrong side of an issue they should be criticized, but it has to cut both ways.
Take two recent issues, the mosque near Ground Zero, and the recent shoplifting arrest of Caroline Giuliani, the daughter of tough law and order former Mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Will Rangel Cut the Deal?
|Congressman Rangel finds himself between what is said: “a rock and a hard place.”
In the twilight of his career, he is forced to make a decision that he does not want to make.
Having Known Rangel for a number of decades, and knowing how important his legacy is to him, every ounce of Rangel’s being is to fight the ethical charges all the way.
It wouldn’t be surprising if he took that route.
Say It Ain’t Say Kathleen
|One general rule of thumb in politics is voters don’t really pay attention to a race until September and Labor Day.
Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice, a Democratic candidate for attorney general, is probably hoping that’s the case after it has been revealed she did not cast her first ballot in an election until 2002, nearly two decades after she first registered to vote.