At this point it’s really tempting fate to ask what else could go wrong with New York State politics. Just now Rep. Charlie Rangel announced he was ‘temporarily’ stepping down as chairman of the Ways and Means committee. Yesterday, Mort Zuckerman, who was rumored to have pushed Harold Ford out of his run for Senate dropped out of the race. And then there is David Paterson. Oh David Paterson.

Advertising

This morning’s New York Times brings news that “a key figure in the domestic abuse scandal bedeviling Gov. David A. Paterson told investigators that the governor phoned to enlist her help in quieting the accuser, according to a person with knowledge of her account.” Also, the head of New York State police resigned yesterday. I suspect one of two things is going to happen here: Paterson will bow to political pressure and step down, or (and this seems increasingly likely, actually) he will cite polls that say New Yorkers don’t want him to resign and merely wait it out. At some point all these stories (barring

anything truly shocking) will begin to have a numbing effect — it’s already starting to feel like the media version of Chinese water torture — and add to that the political chaos in the rest of the state and I imagine Paterson might soon be the better devil you know. Also, there is a budget that needs to be passed! The public’s attention span is only so long.

Jon Stewart weighed in the mess last night. On Rangel: “Hey, here’s an interesting law about rental income on foreign islands, someone get me some white out and my Tommy Bahama shirt.” Really, you can’t make this stuff up.
Tags: Albany, Charlie Rangel, David Paterson, Mort Zuckerman, New York Times