I hope you all enjoyed your unplanned time off yesterday. Today the state should start getting back to normal today. So what’s on your mind today?
Excellent timing! David Broder’s column says Sarah Palin must be taken “seriously” and places her in the company of other successful “populist” presidential candidates — on the same day that new WaPo polling finds 71% say she’s unqualified for presidency.
I believe the last time we talked about the inexplicably influential David Broder on this blog was when he wrote a column about the possible Castle-Biden matchup using Mike Castle press releases.
Is this the New York Governor David Paterson scandal?
The latest news: Federal prosecutors are investigating the governors awarding of a state contract to develop the dilapidated Aqueduct horse race track in Queens to a politically connected group, reports local station WPIX. Separately, the losing bidders are considering a lawsuit, the NY Post reported Tuesday.
Mr. Paterson looked over heavyweight gaming companies like Penn National Gaming and MGM Mirage and instead chose the Aqueduct Entertainment Group that has close ties to Floyd Flake, an influential Queens preacher and former congressman. Critics have blasted the choice as politically motivated. Mr. Flake had said some positive things indicating that he might throw his support behind the state’s attorney general Andrew Cuomo should he decide to run for governor. Some contend that the contract award was a way for Mr. Paterson to squash that support. A charge both men deny.
Paterson has fought back saying that the NYT is trying to ruin his reputation and he’s not leaving:
But at a Tuesday press conference, Paterson said he’s written to the NY Times suggesting he’s being slandered–and that he won’t be resigning his post as governor any time soon.
“The only way I’m not gonna be governor next year is at the ballot box, and the only way that I’ll be leaving office before is in a box,” Paterson said.
This is true, he’s likely to lose in a primary to NY Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, but I doubt the scandal will go away. However, if the NYT has a blockbuster, they should go ahead and publish it. I wonder what’s holding them back?