Skip to content, or skip to search.

Skip to content, or skip to search.



Archive of Briefing

11/10/06

9:45 AM

Briefing 

Make New Friends

  • Allen concedes, Mehlman resigns, "Midnight George" tries to sneak through legislation no one wants. [NYT]
  • World now brought to you in Schumer Vision. [Newsday]
  • George Allen, from golden boy to cooked goose. [WP]
  • Harry Reid, nice guy, consensus builder, playful noogie receiver. [NYT]
  • Dems will intrusively go after friends of federal wiretapping, see how they like it. [NYT]
  • Bush and Pelosi, just like starting over. [NYDN]
  • Spitzer and Bloomberg promise to love each other, fix everything. [NYP]
  • Team Spitzer, ready to take names and do good. [NYDN]
  • If you ever see Eliot Spitzer eating a piece of chicken, run for the hills. [NYT]
  • Sixty-seven percent of New Yorkers to Hillary: Sure, go ahead and run for president, you'll be back. [Gallop Poll]
  • Add these two Western New York Dems to the list of local congressfolk with new massive power. [Buffalo News]
  • Mississippi, last in everything, including Charlie Rangel's heart. [amNY]
  • Brooklyn's James Madison High School, font of senators. [NYS]
  • Trailing by a substantial margin, Nick Spano won't let it go. [amNY]
  • Save Hevesi! [NYS]

11/ 9/06

9:45 AM

Briefing 

Post-Postmortem

  • Bush to Schumer: "I wish you were on my team." [NYT]
  • The AP calls it for Webb, Dems ransack Senate. [WP]
  • Get Along Gates replaces rude-boy Rumsfeld. [NYT]
  • A "thumping"? We heard it was a "thumpin'" [LAT]
  • "Stay the course" hits a brick wall named Nancy. [Star Ledger)
  • Pelosi gets mega coked up for "100 hours" agenda. [Financial Times]
  • News alert: Hillary will announce surprise presidential run sometime pretty soon. You heard it here first. [NYP]
  • But for now it's Mumsville on '08. [Rochester Democrat and Chronicle]
  • Hillary nuh-uhs possible role as Senate majority leader. [NYT]
  • Schumer and Hillary try on togas as Empire State looks more and more imperial in new political reality. [NYT]
  • Vilsack 08! (Readers, please note, getting your vilsack checked regularly can help prevent certain forms of cancer) [Des Moines Register]
  • A few more women, but House still pretty much haven for gross, fat, senile, old white guys. [WP]
  • Walsh, Kelly, Massa won't let the dream die. [amNY]
  • Lieberman owes the GOP big. [NYDN]
  • Spitzer serving up the waffles for Hevesi. [Newsday]


11/ 7/06

9:55 AM

Briefing 

Elect Stuff!

  • Democrats: They're baaaaack. [NYDN]
  • Hillary, human ATM. [NYT]
  • As Indiana goes, so goes the nation. [Buffalo News]
  • Misleading "Robo calls" freak out apathetic loners with short attention spans. [NYT]
  • For the Dems, if it's not a landslide, it's a failure. [NYT]
  • Voting hip! [NYP]
  • Lieberman and Lamont and Menendez and Kean go bonkers campaigning. Spitzer, not so much. [NYT]
  • Faso and Callaghan pity party in Albany. [Newsday]
  • Clinton and Pataki hold contest to see who can visit more depressing upstate towns in one day. [Albany Times Union]
  • Working Families Party harnesses the celebrity power of Pete Seeger to get out the vote. [NYS]
  • Cuomo slobber rudes out Hillary. [NYP]
  • Pirro, still slugging. [NYDN]

11/ 6/06

9:45 AM

Briefing 

To the Wire

  • Hevesi, hard to smoosh. [NYDN]
  • State GOP plays the blame game. [NYT]
  • Republicans, in need of something to feel good about, pile on the Hevesi hate. [NYDN]
  • The Saratoga Republican machine — worse than Tammany? [Newsday]
  • The Clintons rally all weekend. [amNY]
  • Republicans for Spitzer. [NYT]
  • Eric Massa for Republicans. [amNY]
  • Faso and Spitzer, get to know them. [NYDN]
  • Lieberman's pomp stomps Lamont's scrap. [NYT]
  • Spitzer denies a "cover-up" of aide's drunk-driving bust. [NYS]
  • Bush and Lamont, same dude. [NYT]
  • Giving Spitzer his marching orders. [NYP]
  • New Yorkers, for once, your votes matter. [Albany Times Union]
  • Reynolds and Davis, tied. [Buffalo News]
  • Gillibrand and Sweeney, tied. [Albany Times Union]
  • Iraq first in voters minds, Foley second, both sad and ugly. [NY1]
  • In happier news, Jeanine Pirro and Bernie Kerik are madly in love. [Journal News]

11/ 3/06

9:45 AM

Briefing 

It's Gut-Check Time

  • Bill and Hillary share/step on each other's best lines in a beautiful toe-crushing ballet. [NYDN]
  • Reynolds was in on Republican "damage control" talks days before he rolled out his "I could have done more, and for that, I am sorry" shtick. [NYDN]
  • Hevesi will still probably make the finish line in first place. [NY1]
  • Or will he … (Du-rama!) [NYS]
  • Spitzer: I'm no Reagan. [Rochester Democrat & Chronicle]
  • Hillary Clinton. For decades she would arise each morning, look in the mirror, and repeat with conviction, "Honey, you are fun." Now, she finally is. [NYT]
  • Jeffrey Deskovic, once a victim of Jeanine Pirro's whim, is now formally a free man. First words: "Got any Cuomo literature I can pass out around town?" [Journal News]
  • Getting crushed in 2004 presidential run liberated Lieberman to become bland cow-towing centrist he is today. [NYT]
  • A Menendez loss may cause Corzine to rethink the Springsteen candidacy he once scoffed at. [NYT]
  • New York will rep large in Democratic House of Reps. [NYS]

11/ 2/06

9:00 AM

Briefing 

So Much Badness, So Little Time Till Election Day

  • Congressman Sweeney half-admits domestic-violence incident. [NYDN]
  • It's all around town that Sweeney mistreated his wife. [NYDN]
  • Hevesi gave no-bid contracts to his old employees. [NYP]
  • Callaghan finds yet another Hevesi gripe. [Newsday]
  • Hillary confirms Kerry is a doofus. [Albany Times Union]
  • Andrew Cuomo's sketchy record running HUD. [NYT]
  • Christopher Callaghan: unprepared, intrepid, comptroller. [NYT]
  • Spitzer wants to shower money on the schools, Faso wants to bathe them in cold reality. [NYT]
  • It's all about the ladies in New Jersey Senate race. [Newark Star Ledger]

11/ 1/06

9:45 AM

Briefing 

The End in Sight

  • Hevesi legal team floors it. [NYT]
  • Spitzer and Bloomberg lend little guys a lift. [NYDN]
  • To prove competence, Callaghan campaign includes candidate doing complex math problems. [Newsday]
  • Schumer and Bloomberg, deputies of Wall Street. [amNY]
  • A Ned Lamont pre-postmortem [NYT]
  • "Liberated" Joe Lieberman. [NYT]
  • More bread in the state bread box, differences on how to bake it. [Albany Times Union]
  • Hillary wants a cabinet-level nukes guy. For all those decades when we almost blew up the world, we never had this? [NYP]
  • In dead heat, Kean and Menendez go into super double overdrive. [Newark Star Ledger]

10/31/06

9:45 AM

Briefing 

Trail Fever

  • Hevesi takes money from the dogs he's supposed to be watching. [NYDN]
  • Al's security team doubles up on state paychecks. [NYP]
  • National Republicans throw resources at Callaghan. Hevesi acknowledges he might lose. [Newsday]
  • Hillary shunned him, but Lieberman proves he's a mature adult, and an expedient politician, by endorsing her. [NYDN]
  • Rangel calls Cheney a "son of a bitch." Cheney's office responds, "The vice-president is, in point of fact, the spawn of a jackal." [NYP]
  • Bloomberg lives out every boy's dream by spending an afternoon standing around a train station with Joe Lieberman. [NYS]
  • Giuliani, McCain, and Mitt Romney (a.k.a. the Supremes) head to Detroit to stump for Republican gubernatorial candidate. [amNY]
  • Mario Cuomo's last big win. [NYT]
  • Terrible budget equals lies. [Newsday]
  • Joe Bruno promises he'll deploy total-jerk strategy against Spitzer if Eliot doesn't stop stumping for Democratic Senate candidates. [NYP]

10/30/06

9:45 AM

Briefing 

Baggers and Banquets

  • Times likes Lamont (again). [NYT]
  • Pinko Post endorses liberal Democrat for Gov. [NYP]
  • Happy Birthday, Mr. President. [NYDN]
  • Bill Clinton magic fingers on Cuomo. [NYDN]
  • Pirro hangs in the wind. [Newsday]
  • In leap of faith, religious leader endorses Pirro without meeting her. [NYT]
  • Callaghan's "Taxless Express" takes it to the street. [Newsday]
  • Meet Team Spitzer. [NYT]
  • Jersey gay-marriage debate recalls rich history of American bigotry. [NYT]
  • Obama outloots Hillary. [NYP]
  • Jagger endorses a Clinton. [NYDN]
  • In one upstate race, an island of decency amid a sea of filth. [Times Union]
  • Democrat Jack Davis more Republican than Republican Tom Reynolds. [Buffalo News]
  • Lieberman says if he wins, Democrats will hug him. [NYDN]
  • Election Day also zombie flick. [Rochester Democrat & Chronicle]

10/27/06

9:45 AM

Briefing 

No Choice

  • For Comptroller the Times endorses...[NYT]
  • And the Daily News backs....[NYDN]
  • Spitzer pulls support, and Hevesi's 40-point lead falls to within the margin of error. [NYDN]
  • Faso comes up with Spitzer-loves-Hevesi attack line just as Spitzer bails. [Albany Times Union]
  • Thinking big, Clinton wants to give Hillary the best 59th birthday present a girl could get: Congress! [NYDN]
  • Post-debate Hevesi opens up. [Newsday]
  • Men, women on the street differ on Hevesi scandal. [Newsday]
  • Republicans pounce on New Jersey gay marriage ruling like bigoted pumas. [NYT]
  • Corzine backs civil unions. [NYT]
  • Kean-Menendez in dead heat. [NYT]
  • Bring your raincoat and rations for a week or so to the polls. Schumer sees an electoral "tsunami" a brewin'. [NYP]
  • Fun of voting (i.e., pulling that big red lever) to be ruined by lame easily accessible new technology. [NY1]
  • Clinton would not get in the way of a New York gay-marriage law. [NYT]
  • Nice guy Andy. [NYT]

10/26/06

11:37 AM

Briefing 

Area Papers Have a Gay Old Time

The New Jersey courts said yes to some form of same-sex unions, and local papers said yes to blanket coverage. A look at what some of the news outlets are offering:

  • The New York Times ran at least seven stories about the court ruling, starting on the front page with the standard "what happened" with "New Jersey Court Backs Full Rights for Gay Couples." Follow that up with an analysis of the court ruling. Moving into the "Metro" section, we find a tactical look at what the gay community will have to do to push the legislature toward the politically charged "marriage" instead of the more ambivalent "civil union." Finish up with some happy interviews with gay couples and an answer to the day's most pressing question: What will Jim McGreevey do?
  • At the Newark Star-Ledger reporter Matthew Reilly approaches the story in a coherent Q&A format. Read reactions from the thirteen gay plaintiffs in the suit. Columnist Bob Braun blasts the New Jersey Supreme Court for refusing to use the word "marriage" in its ruling.
  • The Record gets candidate reactions: Tom Kean Jr. is against the ruling, and Senator Bob Menendez is for civil unions but against gay marriage.
  • The Daily News goes to Asbury Park to hear from the small but strong gay community there. A black minister from Maryland wrote an op-ed calling the ruling a "warning to the majority of African-Americans" who don't support gay marriage and urging them to vote.
  • In an editorial, the New York Sun said the New Jersey Supreme Court should not have ruled on the matter at all and should have instead deferred to the legislature. And aren't we lucky that the New York Court of Appeals isn't so rash.
  • The New York Post just wanted to write a "Shades of Gay" headline.

9:45 AM

Briefing 

Jersey, So Progressive. Hevesi, So Toast

  • Big hooray for Jersey's gays. [Star Ledger]
  • And here's some helpful context. [NYT]
  • Pataki returns from war-torn Hungary to get the ball rolling on Hevesi ouster. [NYDN]
  • Carter for Comptroller. [NYDN]
  • Young Republicans show up to mess with Hevesi's pre-debate mojo. [NY1]
  • Pirrotown cops back Cuomo. [NYP]
  • Bill "How You Like Me Now?" Clinton hits upstate. [Albany Times Union]
  • Spencer-Pirro scuffle reminds Republicans how screwed they are. [Newsday]
  • Spitzer, holding nose and whispering "he stanky," steps back from Hevesi. [NYT]
  • Newsday backs Callaghan. [Newsday]

10/25/06

9:45 AM

Briefing 

Tough All Over

  • Hevesi hit Vegas. [NYDN]
  • And he's still a gangsta. [NYDN]
  • So his pals hit the deck. [NYT]
  • Post endorses Callaghan for comptroller. [NYP]
  • And not-Pirro for AG. [NYP]
  • Republicans fear a sweep. [amNY]
  • Bloomberg, superstar fund-raiser. [NYS]
  • Spitzer and Faso promise to break up "three guys in a room" Albany system. [Albany Times Union]
  • Reynolds's day in court. [Rochester Democrat & Chronicle]

10/24/06

9:45 AM

Briefing 

Bad Things Happening to Bad People

  • Spencer can't get Hillary off the brain. [NYT]
  • Hillary cheers herself up. [NYDN]
  • Hevesi, a lonely fugitive. [Newsday]
  • Cheese-eating Reynolds sings like a canary. [Rochester Democrat & Chronicle]
  • Pre-victory, Cuomo takes post-victory vacation. [NYDN]
  • Lieberman and Lamont take their final curtain call. [NYT]
  • There are many pretty songs in Joe Lieberman's Iraq-war hymnal. [NYT]
  • Hillary: Only Dems can save New York. [Albany Times Union]

10/23/06

9:45 AM

Briefing 

Endorsement Day

  • Times: Vote Spitzer. [NYT]
  • Times: Vote Cuomo (sorta). [NYT]
  • Hillary has another breezy debate. [Newsday]
  • Spitzer and Bloomberg are ready to rumble, collegially. [NYP]
  • Our emo comptroller gets personal. [NYDN]
  • And he gets dissed. [Poughkeepsie Journal)
  • Maybe debating would help his image. [NYP]
  • Tom Reynolds crowned Snow Bunny '06. [Buffalo News]
  • Coasting Lieberman stays tough. [Hartford Courant]

10/20/06

9:45 AM

Briefing 

The Nattering Nabobs of Negativity

  • Assessment of Stewart sentencing suggests Pirro isn't a big current-events junkie. [NYDN]
  • Pirro has half her burden lifted as Spitzer's office says there's no investigation. [NYDN]
  • Spitzer, already in clean-up-Albany tough-guy mode, sends out warning to Sheldon Silver. [NYS)
  • If you're going to Yonkers, do not wear a flower in your hair — John Spencer might shoot you. [NYT]
  • Callaghan extends Hevesi criticism to attacks on his actual comptrolling. [amNY]
  • State could be fined $50 million for not updating voting machines. Tourist board responds with new "We're Kinda Like Florida" ad campaign. [Rochester Democrat & Chronicle]
  • Times high-fives itself over blog reporting on Menendez flip-flop. [NYT]
  • And finally, on the not-name-calling-or-mudslinging front, an inspiring profile of disabled State Senate candidate Brooke M. Ellison. [NYT]

10/19/06

9:45 AM

Briefing 

Lies, Damn Lies, and Statistics

  • Hevesi lead big but squishy. [NYDN]
  • Pirro transcends factual evidence to insist Cuomo got paid for speeches. [amNY]
  • Bloomberg owns just okay car for a superrich guy .[NYS]
  • Pirro claims she wasn't a vindictive loon in old job. [Newsday]
  • Faso will cut taxes at the neck, Spitzer aims for lower regions. [NYT]
  • Lieberman jumped by gang of local toughs. [NYT]
  • Heedless Clinton flies off the handle with out-of-blue criticism that Republicans like rich people. [NYDN]

10/18/06

9:45 AM

Briefing 

Two Pols Enter, One Pol Leaves

  • Sparks fly between Cuomo and Pirro, suggesting stormy romance in second season. [NYT]
  • The "facts" that obscure the fun in the Cuomo-Pirro debate. [NYT]
  • Hating politicians: It's not just for the apathetic and uninformed. [NYDN]
  • Bush does cameo in Long Island congressional debate between King and Mejias. [Newsday]
  • John Faso: party animal. [NYT]
  • Faso claims fear that Emperor Spitz's wrath will scare away potential donors. [Journal News]
  • Burning money is bad for the environment, so Pataki throws it away in New Hampshire. [Albany Times Union]
  • Clinton debate prep includes showing up, speaking into camera. [NYS]
  • Robert Menendez and Tom Kean Jr. won't be writing BFF in each other's yearbooks after the election ends. [Star Ledger]

10/17/06

9:45 AM

Briefing 

Further Lessons in Unsound Judgment

  • Jeanine Pirro to Post gossip fossil: Pray for me, trail Al. [NYP]
  • Spitzer leans on Hevesi to man up and debate. [NYDN]
  • Bloomberg, always ready to zig when you think he ought to zag, defends Hevesi. [NYP]
  • Arnold the Green Giant comes to lower Manhattan. [amNY]
  • Wrath and acrimony are major issues in Connecticut Senate debate. [NYT]
  • More Clinton lies: Hillary not named after Sir Edmund Hillary. [NYT]
  • Spencer builds base of loonies, wackos to ensure win. [NYS]

10/16/06

9:30 AM

Briefing 

One Pirro Slashes, Another Burns

  • The loveless life of Al Pirro. [NYP]
  • The sizzling saucepot of crazy good times that was the first attorney-general debate. [NYT]
  • Two views of Spitzer: Either he's a power-drunk jerk or you're just jealous. [NYT]
  • Pirro and Cuomo share shady donor issues. [NYDN]
  • Contrary to her claim, Pirro saw Deskovic evidence. [NYDN]
  • Michael Bloomberg, a lot like Danny Devito in "Twins." [NYT]
  • Will the new anti-Hillary please step forward? [NYS]
  • Can Eliot Spitzer be excellent to everyone?. [Newsday]
  • Even in victory, Lieberman may end up the loneliest kid in the Senatorial sandbox. [Hartford Courant]
  • Everyone's favorite Vaudeville comedy act, Koch & D'Amato wheeze forth with pronouncement: The NYGOP is toast. [Newsday]

10/13/06

9:45 AM

Briefing 

The Big Debate, and Hevesi's Date in Court

  • Faso busts out B-List meanness in final debate with Spitzer .[NYT]
  • In case you weren't fact-checking at home... [NYT]
  • Mark Warner pulls out of the '08 race; Republicans sensing a Hillary walk, dance in the streets. [NYDN]
  • Alan Hevesi's wife's driver to be making a stop at the D.A.'s house. [Albany Times Union]
  • Page-program overseer narks out the people who stuck him with lousy page-overseeing job. [NYP]
  • Experts expecting nothing but bruising good times at Cuomo-Pirro debate. [NYDN]
  • It's McCain and Kissinger versus Clinton and Obama in New Jersey. Apparently, they're also having a Senate race there. [NYT]

10/12/06

9:45 AM

Briefing 

Picking Fights, Dodging Questions, and Going Joemental

  • Hillary explains her Iraq position, makes everything all better. [NYDN]
  • With daily good-deed quota lagging, Spitzer goes after nasty power plant. [AP via amNY]
  • Crazy old lady with wacky "new world order" conspiracy theory steals show at Faso fund-raiser. [NYT]
  • McCain gets harsh on Hillary for Clinton-era North Korea policy. Hillary responds, "Honey, I wasn't even the damn room." [Newsday]
  • A tentacle of the Foley scandal gently caresses another upstate race. [Times Herald Record]
  • A Star Is Born: Spitzer, the Early Years. [NYT]
  • A fun game for the whole family: "Find Joe in Row E." [NYT]
  • Schumer and Cuomo field questions on Jeanine Pirro with "no comment," playful smirk. [NY1]

10/11/06

9:45 AM

Briefing 

Money Changes Everything

  • Hillary's mom gets the upstairs bedroom. [NYDN]
  • Behind the comptroller: A heart-nuzzling history of Alan "If the Slipper Fits" Hevesi. [Newsday]
  • Cuomo agrees to debate Pirro twice, "but only if she talks the whole time and I don't have to show up." [NYT]
  • At Faso event, Giuliani warns that massive Spitzer tax hikes will doom us to a future of foie gras school lunches, free plastic surgery, and glassy smooth driving experiences. [NYS]
  • Seeking cash, Pirro turns to two titans of American Democracy, Dan Quayle and the Swift Boat guy. [NYDN]
  • Spitzer offers glimpse of future administration with list of top aides, including finance chief Spiderman, education czar Wonder Woman, and energy secretary the Green Lantern. Observers surprised Hawk and Apache were shut out of major appointments. [NYS]
  • Lamont now only in race so he has an excuse to "blow a little cash and get out of the house now and again." [Hartford Courant]

10/10/06

9:45 AM

Briefing 

Accusations, Lies, Scandals, and a Parade

  • Crappy pen pal Al Sharpton writes Lieberman an "open letter" accusing him of — wait for it — race baiting! [NYDN]
  • Pirro on probe: This is way, way worse than my alien abduction. [amNY]
  • Guy who (allegedly) covered up pedophile scandal cancels appearance at (alleged) fund-raiser for guy who (allegedly) strangled his girlfriend. [Newsday]
  • At the Columbus Day parade, Cuomo gets Clinton, Pirro gets cops. [NYS]
  • Hevesi won't set time for comptroller's debate, citing "a ton of comptrolling I need to get done." [NYDN]
  • Ever smooth, Hill and Bill cook up slick non-position on same-sex marriage. [NYP]
  • Hillary and Chuck go ballistic over North Korean bomb tests. [NY1]

10/ 9/06

10:45 AM

Briefing 

Foley Scandal Keeps on Giving

  • Kirk Fordham going as a rat for Halloween. [NYT]
  • Tom Reynolds still workshopping story, lies. [Buffalo News]
  • Pending gig as Wal-Mart greeter means Denny Hastert can't honor commitment to attend Bloomberg's big GOP fundraiser. [NYP]
  • Spitzer's second banana hard to hear through muzzle. [NYS]
  • Clinton to Bon Jovi: Take my hand; we'll make it I swear. [NYP]
  • Spitzer's vow of selflessness allows Faso to call him a spoiled rich kid. [NY1]
  • The farther you get from ground zero, the more Rudy is "9/11 Man". [NYT]
  • Two hospitalized after New Jersey Senate debate. [NYT]
  • But even in Jersey, brutal attacks will only get you so far. [AP]
  • Hillary parachutes into another electoral war zone. [Hartford Courant]

10/ 6/06

9:45 AM

Briefing 

Going Down With the Ship

  • Jeanine isn't a part owner of the family boat, but her lawyer's not bugged. [NYDN]
  • Pirro polls: unscathed but still doomed. [Albany Times Union]
  • Cuomo invested in a supporter's hedge fund: vaguely shady behavior, but he'll have to work a lot harder if he wants to appear corrupt in this election. [NYT]
  • Kennedy and Lieberman, in finest Democratic tradition, have no idea what Democrat tradition is. [Hartford Courant]
  • State GOP head actually releases a list called "Top Ten Things NY Dems Should Do to Show They Actually Condemn Sexual Predation." Letterman writing gig awaits. [NYDN]
  • New Democratic leader in State Senate somewhat weirded out by news of strange new same-sex marriage issue. [NYT]
  • Bloomberg leads over 100 mayors from less cool places in anti-gun crusade. [NYP]

10/ 5/06

9:45 AM

Briefing 

Pirro's Graft, Alan's Sticky Fingers, Faso's Lightness of Being

  • She gives and she gives, and what does she get back? Only tears. As Westchester D.A., Jeanine doled out no-bid contracts to Rudy and Bernie. [NYP]

  • Callaghan claims Hevesi gave his wife a computer with state money — also a lamp. an ashtray, a paddle game, and the remote control. (That's all she needed.) [NYDN]

  • Alan "Worse Than Nixon" Hevesi's approval rating drops 8 percent. [Albany Times Union]

  • John Faso maintains hipster street cred with cool underground candidacy, not like that played-out overexposed Spitzer. [NYDN]

  • Representative Peter King says Mark Foley reminds him of a Catholic priest. Pope Benedict tells Catholics it's okay to kill Representative Peter King. [Newsday]

  • New York Republicans: Pirro is so last week; we've got a new scandal-plagued failure to rally behind. [NYT]

  • Cuomo makes quick "I'm not the leaker" statement before embarking on six-week hiking trip in Alaska. [Newsday]

  • Lieberman, using fun "Joe Logic," says Lamont's Iraq war stance is bad for Israel. [NYT]

  • Jim McGreevey's memoir is hot in another sense. [Star-Ledger]
  • 10/ 4/06

    9:45 AM

    Briefing 

    Suffer the Little Children

    • AJ and Meadow drummed into service at Jeanine rally; Pataki appears via satellite from fallout shelter. [NYDN]
    • Oops, wrong witch hunter. [Journal News]
    • Laura Bush, the only Republican who isn't disgraced or despised, comes to the aid of disgraced, despised Tom Reynolds. [Buffalo News]
    • Reynolds expands strenuously pursued stupidity defense regarding aid's role in Foley craziness. [Albany Times Union ]
    • 38 percent of Americans still live in Stone Age. [NYDN]
    • Connecticut races descend — or de-Foley-ate — into scandal-related mudslinging. [Hartford Courant]
    • Majority Leader Bruno has bad day at the track. [AP]
    • Bronx borough prez is a total brownnoser. [NYS]

    10/ 3/06

    10:00 AM

    Briefing 

    Keep Hope Alive

    • Jeanine Pirro: Never Scared. [NYT]
    • "Oh, honey, you shouldn't have. A courtroom sketch of the guy you're sleeping with". [NYP]
    • Republicans can't get enough of that "Pirro magic." [Newsday]
    • Al's other women's lawyer husband says Jeanine didn't get him favorable plea deals. [Journal News]
    • Next on the Feds' wish list: Bernie's financial records. [NYP]
    • Hevesi says no to debates, goes into hibernation until election. [NYDN]
    • Local lawmakers hate the new coke. [NYT]
    • "Hey, that's Judge Psycho to you, pal!" [NYT]
    • The Steve Prefontaine of New York politics goes after the city's lone GOP congressman. [NYS]

    10/ 2/06

    9:30 AM

    Briefing 

    The Money Pit

    • The Feds are now looking into Jeanine Pirro's financial records. Also allege she started the Chicago fire, is responsible for the Black Dahlia murder, and outsourced all the sewing for her Olympus Fashion Week collection. [NYT]
    • She paid for it in tears; he paid for it in large monthly sums of cash. [NYP]
    • Fade out the Frank Sinatra, cue up the Gretchen Wilson: Al's illegitimate daughter offers support from Oklahoma. [NYDN]
    • Westchester locals offer bland "eh, whatever" on Pirro scandal. [Newsday]
    • Senator Pothole says Jeanine's buried. [NYP]
    • Clintons dip into rarely tapped "jock" pool of celebrity love. [AP]
    • Pataki's last 100 days: fewer hospitals, more charter schools. [NYS]
    • Bloomberg has a good hype man.[NYDN]
    • Faso, looking for something — anything — that might work, continues tying Spitzer to Hevesi. [AP]

    9/29/06

    10:50 AM

    Briefing 

    Pirro, Our Hero

    • The Pirros, spanning time together. [NYT]
    • Republicans don hazmat suits, jump in on Jeanine's behalf, pretty much. [NYT]
    • Anyway, unless she dies, there's no way to get her off the ballot. [Crain's NY Business]
    • Al is definitely punching above his weight in the "hot other woman" department.[NYDN]
    • Reached for comment, Hot Other Woman says: Are you nuts? He nasty. [Journal-News]
    • National Organization of Women, State Republicans thinking as one. [Albany Times Union]
    • What do you do if your man is untrue? [NYP]
    • Math not yet devised to calculate Spitzer advantage. [NYT]
    • Lieberman's lead means old friends soon to offer tepid "Uh, hey, Joe. So, like, how was your summer?" [NYT]
    • Feeling jealous during the Pirro thing, New Jersey does what it can to cough up a decent political scandal. [Newark Star-Ledger]

    9/28/06

    9:45 AM

    Briefing 

    At Last, a Federal Wiretapping Probe We Can All Enjoy

    • "What am I supposed to do, Bernie? Watch him f--- her every night? What am I supposed to do? I can go on the boat. I'll put the f-----g thing on myself." [NYDN]
    • Hell hath no fury, Jeanine hath no future. [NYT]
    • We can all take lessons from the Pirro probe. For instance, how do I bug my dirtbag spouse and avoid prison? [NYT]
    • Sweatin' to the oldies: Al Pirro's greatest hits. [NYDN]
    • Always the smooth operator, Bernie Kerik cut a plea to get out of Pirro investigation. [NYS]
    • Rudy: No one deserves criticism for terrorism screwups. Not Bill Clinton, not George Bush. I'm Rudy Giuliani, and I approve this message. [AP]
    • Hillary's Senate challenger becomes the first person no one cares about to enter Clinton-Fox terror spat. [Newsday]
    • While scandal-scarred Hevesi looks for the off ramp, his opponent can't find his car keys. (In other news, we're running low on driving metaphors.) [NYT]
    • Voters to City Council members: Leave your job. [NYP]
    • We have to look upstate for competitive races. Here, a good, well-meaning person takes on a corrupt, venal person in House bid. [Albany Times Union]
    • The GOP will not be bringing its big-big show back to New York. [NY1]

    9/27/06

    9:30 AM

    Briefing 

    Fact or Factish? Debatable

    • While you were watching Matlock — Spitzer and Faso debated who should govern you. (NYT)
    • You can say anything in a debate and people will take it as fact, so here's a look at what was fact and what was factish. (NYT)
    • Spitzer flexes, Faso needs to hit the gym. (NYDN)
    • Hevesi's opponent getting a free ride from $82,000 screwup. (NYP)
    • Pirro scores checks, catches heck. (NYT)
    • Rudy to give speech, chase dream. (NYDN)
    • Also in Pennsylvania, Bloomberg stays ballistic on gun lobby. (NYS)
    • First Lady swoops in to help Utica rep: "In these troubled times, we need a man like INSERT NAME OF CANDIDATE — I mean, Ray Meier!" (AMNY)
    • Tom Suozzi watches debate through blinding haze of bitterness. (Newsday)

    9/26/06

    9:30 AM

    Briefing 

    Pataki Assembles Presidential Soapbox Racer

    • Joe Lieberman nuances IndieRepubliDem war position, says Ned Lamont "fudged" his. (NYT)
    • The George Pataki presidential soapbox racer has its first wheel. (NYDN)
    • The free — really $82,000 — ride is over for comptroller Alan Hevesi's wife. (NYT)
    • Hillary has a bug on her windshield, and its name is John Spencer. (AP)
    • And she comes up with the right nonresponse half-endorsement of her husband's Fox performance. (Newsday)
    • Schumer says thanks for the terror money, now how about some terror money? (NYS)
    • New York's been batting zero in producing presidential nominees for over 50 years. Can Rudy or Hillary break the streak? (NYS)
    • Condi says Bill Clinton didn't leave Bush with a decent terror plan, isn't right on Bush pre-9/11 strategy, secretly wants to make out with Osama, hates pets. (NYP)
    • Conservative Party candidate Robert J. Helbock plays for the team and clears out of three-way State Senate race. (NYT)

    9/25/06

    9:00 AM

    Briefing 

    Satan: Democrat or Republican?

    • The Department of Homeland Security has boosted anti-terror funding for New York by 300 percent. (New York Daily News)

    • GOP gubernatorial candidate John Faso, low on cash, is asking party leaders to pay for lawn signs. (New York Times)

    • Jerry Falwell calls Hillary "worse than Lucifer" and claims her presidential run will spark the evangelical base. But dwindling GOP donor contributions suggest less enthusiasm for a showdown with our junior senator. (Los Angeles Times; Daily News")

    • Bill Clinton's stock Hillary '08 answer has moved from "if she won, she'd be great" to "she can win." (New York Post)

    • As Andrew Cuomo spent money on his primary bid, GOP opponent Jeanine Pirro collected cash and hired Nelson Peltz as her finance chair. Cuomo's people are a little worried. (New York Magazine)

    • Connecticut's longest-serving representative, Nancy L. Johnson, is feeling some heat in her bid to win a thirteenth term. Her solution is to switch her M.O. from gentle moderate to red-meat security hawk — following the Republican national strategy in a state where Bush polls 30 percent. New York Republicans are not following her lead. (New York Times; The Journal News)

    • Condi signed off on documents that said it was "safe to breathe" the air at ground zero. (New York Post)

    • Newsday's reporters and editors union contributed to politicians the paper covers, violating its ethics rules. The Post is happy. (New York Post)

    • What's an election without concerns about electronic voting machines? Fortunately, New York demands a paper trail. (New York Times; Electionline.org)

    • Adam Nagourney with a version of this year's hot political trend piece: Will 2006 be a Democratic mirror image of the Republican takeover of 1994? He focuses on party tactics rather than national mood and finds the opposition party with numerous impediments, from organization to message to Howard Dean's inability to raise money. (New York Times)

    • Say good-bye to Congressman Major Owens, who's stepping down after 24 years representing the 11th Congressional District. He's a little upset his son got blown out in the four-way war for his seat, but he's looking forward to finishing his play, Tom and Sally, about Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hennings. (New York Daily News)

    • Green Party co-founder and perennial candidate Howie Hawkins is running for Senate and predictably attacks Hillary on health care and Iraq. (Finger Lakes Times)

    Advertising