Spitzer vows to do away with "three men in a room" government...

It's a good thing that Eliot "Steamroller" Spitzer and his pointy chin have a sizable ego and a bad temper. He could have been the Emperor of the Empire State by now if he hadn't started fights with everyone in Albany within his first month at the job.

He just won a major victory when he threw his resources behind a little known democrat politician from Long Island, who was just elected to fill Republican Mike Balboni's seat in a special election that occurred yesterday. In case you're counting, that slices the Republican majority in the Senate down to 33-29. If the dems can find a way to take two more seats, the Senate is theirs. Mr. Johnson defeated a pretty good Republican candidate in Nassau County Clerk Maureen O'Connell, and his victory would have been next to impossible but for the Steamroller's money and tireless campaigning on his behalf. Now the Senate Dems owe the Steamroller, and he has leverage over the Republicans since he can threaten to hire away or switch the two needed for a democratic majority. I don't think he's going to have much trouble moving legislation through the Senate.

Fortunately for those of us who do not want to live under a benevolent dictator plutocrat (yet), the Steamroller picked an unwinnable fight that simply served to solidify the democrats in the assembly behind their leader, Silver. Despite that fact the the legislature has the constitutional right and duty to pick someone to fill the empty Comptroller spot, the Steamroller tried to force one of his candidates through. He went as far as sending the good members of the legislature a threat letter yesterday, urging them to "consider both the context for this decision and its serious ramifications" and not to make a "huge mistake" when they voted today. (In the Steamroller's mind, the huge mistake would be to elect a member of the assembly as Comptroller.)

Ladies and Gentlemen, I introduce to you, your new Comptroller, Democratic Assemblyman Tom DiNapoli.

The Steamroller took one on the chin. Unfortunately, I think he's a little like Mike Tyson: the sight of his own blood makes him a little crazy in the head.