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September 28, 2007

A huge crowd fathering in Washington Square Park last night to hear Senator Barack Obama speak. He mentioned that he "used to hang out in Washington Square Park" and that he knew "a little something about Greenwich Village." His speech touched upon issues like making college more affordable and how his relative lack of experience didn't matter, "Longevity does not guarantee good judgment. A long resume says nothing about your character.” And there was love:... [continue]

September 27, 2007

Rudy Giuliani replaced his lead fundraiser. Anne Dunsmore joined the Giuliani campaign in May, and her credentials as the California finance director during President Bush's 2000 and 2004 elections prompted Giuliani to create a special position for her - deputy campaign manager for finance. Dunsmore was leading the drive to raise more than $100 million; she told the Washington Post's The Fix last May, "When you have $100 million situation hitting or missing by 10... [continue]

September 25, 2007

Mayor Bloomberg is back from London, just in time to deliver an address at Cooper Union while the world's media is milling about NYC for the U.N.'s General Assembly. Bloomberg will be appearing as part of a panel near Astor Place to discuss national policy matters. According to The New York Sun, an online site is attracting a growing number of supporters to draft Mayor Bloomberg as a third party candidate in the 2008 Presidential... [continue]

September 21, 2007

Governor Spitzer can rest a bit easier now: The Albany County DA found that the governor's aides broke no laws when they tried to use the state police to discredit a rival, State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno. DA David Soares will release a report today, but in the meantime, his spokeswoman's statement said, "This office found no illegal conduct. To the contrary, we found that the governor, his staff, and the New York State... [continue]

September 19, 2007

With Hillary Clinton focusing on her strong presidential campaign, NY State Democrats are wondering who will take over her place as the junior Senator from New York. Apparently Governor Spitzer may be open to putting Attorney General Andrew Cuomo on his shortlist. The Sun explains that while Spitzer and Cuomo are not necessarily friendly (especially due to Troopergate), Spitzer might want Cuomo in another powerful political office so he can avoid facing off with him... [continue]

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September 14, 2007

If The New York Times needs a rationale for allegedly discounting the ad rate it offered the advocacy group MoveOn for its ad alleging that General Petraeus was betraying his country my misrepresenting the true state of Iraq, we suggest characterizing it as a loss leader, because a lot of ink is being spilled and paid for in response to it. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani hasn't even won the Republican nomination yet,... [continue]

Governor Spitzer's communications director Darren Dopp has come full circle. The aide, criticized for trying to dig up dirt on Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno by way of the State Police's records on Bruno's travel, had originally said he'd comply with the investigation and offer up his e-mail correspondence. But, after being served with a subpoena from the Ethics Commission, Dopp's lawyer Terrence Kindlon said his client would fight it. Now, Kindlon tells the press,... [continue]

September 13, 2007

Darren Dopp, Governor Spitzer's communications director who was faulted for at least co-devising a plan to smear State Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno by way of State Police records, is planning on fighting a subpoena from the State Ethics Commission. The subpoena, which asks for Dopp's email that relates to the scandal (beginning January 1, 2007, Spitzer's first day, until a few days ago), is described as "very broad" by Dopp's lawyer Terrence Kindlon who... [continue]

September 9, 2007

The prominent Democratic party donor and California fugitive Norman Hsu's connection to New York City's New School is examined in the NY Times today. Hsu donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to national Democrats like Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, to governors like Eliot Spitzer of NY and Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania, and NYC politicians like City Council members Christine Quinn and John Liu and City Comptroller William Thompson. Hsu, who had been wanted... [continue]

September 7, 2007

Just when we thought Roger Stone, the GOP operative accused of leaving a menacing voicemail for Governor Spitzer's father, couldn't be more amusing, he outdoes himself. Stone's assistant sent The Politicker's Azi Paybarah some photographs of Stone, supposedly "taken at The Ink Monkey tattoo shop in Venice Beach, California" where he was "getting a tattoo on his back of Richard Nixon’s face." Really. Why bring up a bizarre tattoo and photographs? Because Stone says... [continue]

September 6, 2007

It's been too long since we've checked in with Roger Stone, the GOP operative who is suspected of making a threatening call to Governor Spitzer's father. The Sun reports that Stone, who was asked to resign his $20,000/month gig consulting for NY State Republicans, has apologized to Dale Hemmerdinger, the owner of his apartment building and friend of Spitzer. Spitzer's father's lawyers say that a call (which included the invective, "You will be compelled by... [continue]

Fred Thompson was never an actual Manhattan District Attorney, he just played one TV. He used the same medium to announce that he was running for President by pursuing the Republican nomination Wednesday night on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. Unlike California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who announced his gubernatorial candidacy by appearing on The Tonight Show in person, Thompson made his announcement via a taped message that Leno aired. Speculation about the possibility of... [continue]

September 3, 2007

This week's big election news will likely center around former Senator and former Law & Order actor Fred Thompson, who will finally announce his presidential campaign this week. Newsday reports that earlier this summer, Rudy Giuliani's fund-raisers were "pleasantly surprised" that Thompson hadn't announced his candidacy, with one source saying, "They though they were getting a break that he didn't get in." The NY Post's DC bureau chief Charles Hurt says that once Thompson makes... [continue]