The NY comptroller, Alan Hevesi, got into a situation when it came out that he used state funds to provide car services for his ailing (but not enough to be qualified for them) wife that did not follow regular policy. Given his job, this was rather embarrassing, but honestly, as a scandal it did not quite appall me or anything. [The whole nannygate deal respecting the federal attorney general did not quite upset me either, though I have more opposition on that end.]
The NY Daily News editorial board -- a conservative leaning bunch that thinks it is an "easy" call to endorse the de facto Republican senate candidate of Connecticut -- agrees. It noted that seriously one cannot really endorse the nonentity Republican candidate, a nice enough low key bow tie wearing sort, but clearly chosen to be a sacrificial lamb. Hevesi did actually air a rather lame attack ad that played yesterday, which seems rather pointless. Why give the guy any more exposure, after even he said that his one moment in the sun -- the debate -- was pretty lackluster
[Poor Hevesi is like a pariah these days. He is not invited to the Democrat victory party on Election Day, scheduled to have one of his own, perhaps a little affair at his home. Bring your own food.]
Anyway, this sort of thing should guide one to vote for a third party, you know the Green Party. An article in today's News notes that the woman in question assures them that "more than one" person said they would vote for her after the news came out. Meanwhile, I received an email -- in part endorsed by Cynthia Nixon, formerly of Sex in the City -- encouraging us to vote for people on the Working Families Party line. We have cross-party tickets in this state, so generally people are both on the Democrat and WFP line. Voting via that line would bring attention and support to the party, whose aims generally can be inferred from its title. And, a few candidates were elected solely on that line. Well, I'm sure at least one or two were. It is a relatively new party.
Talking about sacrificial lambs, even the NY Post endorsed Hillary Clinton because they realize her competition is not really someone to take seriously. One can say the same about the Republican candidate for governor. I received one of those annoying canned recordings today from his office talking about how his opportunity's "running mate" (Alan Hevesi) was crooked. No, sorry to interrupt your little role playing game ("when I'm your governor"), but Hevesi is running as comptroller. Someone whose name that slips my mind (of some note locally ... at least, a bit more well known than Gov. Pataki's first running mate, some loose cannon sort that eventually turned on him) is Eliot Spitzer's "running mate."
Anyway, I am ready for this whole thing to be over. I was sick of the election season in '04 long before now, and the whole thing again tires me. At least, this time around there is more assurance that the result will be a good one. [David Brooks, however, yesterday said we will probably lose a great family advocate in PA ... no mention why he thinks Sen. Casey would be any less of one, perhaps a bit more of a supporter of all families (you know, gays etc.) in the process ... while not being part of an anti-family party overall.] As to why it is so important, yet again we can do much worse than going to Glenn Greenwald, this one about the detainment of an Iraqi journalist.
I do wish we had more national leaders for whom we can have a modicum of respect. I can say this without fear, since I am not a lead singer of a country/bluegrass band with a major audience in the South. Oh, the VH1 Storytellers show was pretty good.