Governor Pataki's Lower Manhattan Commercials

There's no wake-up like seeing Governor Pataki wax rhapsodic about Lower Manhattan in a commercial as Gothamist did this morning. NY State has launched a $5 million national ad campaign to ostensibly promote business in downtown NYC, but his critics wonder if it's more to promote his image. The commercial opens with the WTC cornerstone, with the Governor doing a voiceover that includes, "Discover your very own American success story. Build your business right here, right now, in lower Manhattan, where the only thing greater than today's success is our vision for tomorrow." Yes, they are pretty darn schmaltzy. But it's a worthy cause. Related: Insurers must pay up to $2.2 billion To WTC developer Larry Silverstein - hey, David Childs, you'll finally get paid!

Of course, now state Democrats want to conduct an official probe of using $5 million of taxpayers' money for these TV commercials, which are running on NN, Fox, MSNBC, CNBC and Bloomberg, plus on spot TV in major markets (NYC, Los Angeles, Chicago, D.C., Philadelphia, San Franciso, Boston, Atlanta). And in other big gubernatorial news, NY State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has officially announced he's running for Governor, seizing upon how dysfunctional Albany is.