Newsflash: The D&C Wants Everyone to Get Along

For some reason, the D&C ignored my sensible call for Gov. Spitzer and Shelly Silver to fight to the death over the vacant comptroller posotion. Not surprisingly, the paper advised both sides to compromise and make nice (I bet that would get them both a "thumbs up!").

The paper sagely advised the Governor that he "should understand that he can't bowl over the Legislature. It is his partner in the governance of the state."

This same editorial page has been castigating the legislature for years for its ineptitude and inaction (and rightly so). But if that's the case, then the Governor darn well better "bowl" them over if necessary. Of course, none of this has anything to do with the comptroller vote, where Spitzer has no constitutional role, and Silver gets to choose. Spitzer made a nice power play to muck things up a bit and to embarrass Silver, but at the end of the day, the vote belongs to Silver and his dems in the Assembly.

Which brings us to Silver, who "should ensure that the [comptroller] vote will be based on qualification, not partisan ties."

Right. If that was the case, the dems should elect John Faso. But at the end of the day, it's going to be one of Silver's Assembly democrats. At very least, the paper should have shown some spine and advised Silver to elect "our" Assembly democrat, Joe Morelle (who does, in fact, have some pretty good credentials).

Finally, the D&C should get its facts straight when it offers insipid political advice. Governor Spitzer was not elected with "nearly 80% of the vote." According to the State Board of Elections' final figures, Governor Spitzer ended up with 65.7% of the vote.

I wish I could have gotten away with that kind of math when I was a kid: "Yeah dad, I nearly got a B on that test I just failed."