Results tagged “johnspencer”

Hill-arious! Republican Senate hopeful John Spencer denied telling Daily News reporter Ben Smith that he thought opponent Hillary Clinton was ugly and probably had plastic surgery. Spencer did admit to noticing how Clinton's style had changed, but says he never questioned Bill Clinton's decision to marry.

Senator Hillary Clinton and her Republican opponent John Spencer debated yesterday morning, and as expected, Spencer brought up her presidential ambitions again. He questioned why she was making trips in states that are important electorally and even went as far to say that he happened to like her (he's got nothing to lose, since the GOP isn't throwing any money at his campaign) she'd be a “tremendous” presidential candidate. But that's as far as the Spencer love goes, because the Daily News has some rather personal comments Spencer made:

"You ever see a picture of her back then? Whew," said John Spencer of Clinton's younger days.

Continue reading "Clinton Debates Spencer; Spencer Debates Her Looks"

Last night, Senator Hillary Clinton and Republican challenger John Spencer met upstate for their first debate. Aside from the fact that they were actually meeting, it was a fairly mild affair, given Clinton's huge 2-to-1 lead over Spencer. Spencer, a former mayor of Yonkers, did raise the question of Clinton's 2008 ambitions, saying, "You're not president yet, Mrs. Clinton!" when she discussed wanting to remove Donald Rumsfeld. He also questioned Clinton's huge warchest, "She's raised $40 million for herself. To run against me?" (Spencer has less than $500,000). But Clinton said she was committed to being a U.S. Senator for the next six years, which we believe - until she starts showing up in Iowa and New Hampshire more often.

Siena College released poll numbers for various NY election races yesterday. In the wackiest race of all - the Attorney General race between Democrat Andrew Cuomo and Republican Jeanine Pirro - it looks like the embattled Pirro is gaining slightly on Cuomo. Cuomo now leads by 13 points, 50 to Pirro's 37, but a month ago, Cuomo led by 17 points. But it's not like voters are suddenly switching sides - Cuomo's numbers went down as more people joined the undecided voters. So, it still doesn't seem like the scandal has hurt Pirro very much, but it's still unclear if it's helped her. We're curious about a post-debate poll, after Sunday's wild ride. Cuomo and Pirro are debating for the last time (awww) this morning in Rochester - we hope that Room Eight's LunchBox tackles that debate too, because yesterday's LunchBox on Sunday's debate was perfect.

With the primary settling who's running in November, candidates came out swinging. And the best cage match might be the Attorney General's race. The NY Times had this first line:

Kicking off their general-election battle for New York State attorney general yesterday, Andrew M. Cuomo and Jeanine F. Pirro could not have smiled more, sounded nicer, or done a poorer job of concealing their true feelings: they want to shred each other.

In fact, Democrats in NY State spent yesterday calling her Pataki's lackey (not in those words, sadly, more like "royal lieutenant," but "Pataki's lackey" rhymes!). In the gubernatorial race, Republican John Faso said the Wall Street prosecution cases of Attorney General - and frontrunner - Eliot Spitzer were "phony" while Spitzer called Faso a "lobbyist." Really, men, settle down! And Republican candidate for Senate John Spencer challenged Senator Hillary Clinton to a debate; the Post reports her people said she will, but they need to work out details. Details like will this come before or after some swings into the Midwest to raise more money.

With just 55 days left, the dance cards are set for the general election. As expected, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and Senator Hillary Clinton won their respectives primaries for governor and Senate. The NY Times noted that Clinton's reosounding win showed that her support of the Iraq war did not affect voter sentiment:

“Clinton’s work ethic, her lack of enemies, and her fund-raising help for other Democrats have insulated her from party criticism, including on Iraq,” said Ken Sherrill, a political scientist at Hunter College. “I got a taped phone call from Susan Sarandon urging support for Tasini, but that’s all I really heard about him.”

On the Republican side of the Senate race, former Yonkers mayor John Spencer won the nomination. Given the mess the Republican Senate nominees are in, it's safe to say Clinton has it in the bag. Next up for Spitzer, though, is facing a campaign from Republican John Faso, who Spitzer leads 67% to Faso's 21% in a Marist poll.

If you're a registered Democrat or Republican, get your primary shoes out. Here's a list of candidates (PDF), but the shortlist of primaries is:

After last year's mess of an awards show and this year's joke of nominations (where is love for Lauren Graham, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences?), we were going to swear off this year's Emmys. But then we realized Conan O'Brien was hosting, so we must watch and liveblog. And there's the hope of a good Steve Carrell bit, not to mention awkward reaction shots of Candy and Tori Spelling during the Aaron Spelling tribute.

While the Senate race this fall is kind of boring, in that Senator Hillary Clinton is pretty much assured re-election, one thing that is exciting is the insanity of the Republican party. The two Republican candidates, John Spencer and K.T. McFarland, debated on NY1 last night and it was balls out nuts. Spencer won the Republican party's nomination, but McFarland is hoping to sway some people during the primary (September 12) with digs like this:

"You brought up your wife, and I must tell you that that’s not a personal issue. That’s a professional issue. Because when you were mayor of Yonkers, you had an affair with your secretary while you were married to somebody else. You tripled her salary and made her your chief of staff. You were living with her. You doubled your own personal income. You got financial gain from that. And you had two children... If you'd worked for the federal government and you'd behaved that way, you would have been subject to indictment."

Meow! Spencer then said, "Shame on you, shame on you as the mother of children and a woman yourself, to talk about my wife and my family like that," and explained his current wife had been a staffer in other political offices and that he had gone through a "private separation and remarriage." Still, McFarland managed to say, "You are like the Clintons. You taxed and spent like Hillary, and you behaved like Bill," which Spencer dismissed as a ploy for a soundbite. Well, the ploy worked!

Many politicians will be marching in the Gay Pride Parade, as it's a big election year, and, like many constituencies with issues at stake, the gay community generally heads to the polls to support their candidates. Which makes Republican Senate hopeful Kathleen T. McFarland's new disclosure about her family fascinating. The NY Times reports that McFarland's advisers told to her reveal that her childhood home was "physically abusive" and why she became estranged with her gay brother (it was over "objections to his lifestyle"). McFarland went public with the information because two letters she wrote to her parents about the abuse "have found their way into the hands of a magazine reporter." The actual statement doesn't directly refer to her brother being gay in the statement, but the Times article explains McFarland didn't attend her HIV-positive brother's funeral "out of concern about a confrontation with her parents."

The Gay Pride Parade started at noon at Fifth Avenue and 52nd Street, but don't worry, you'll be able to check it out as it winds its way down Fifth, making a right when it right 8th Street and then heads towards Christopher Street, and will take a few hours. And there will be lots of celebrating along the way and afterwards, what with Pridefest and the Dance on the Pier. The parade's co-Grand Marshals are Florent Morellet and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

Former Massachusetts Governor William Weld dropped out of the Republican race, officially letting the much lesser known John Faso take the Republican nomination worry-free. The maneuvering seemed to come after various state GOP bigwigs asked Weld to step down after Weld, who was initially supported by Governor Pataki and former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, made a poor, but viable-enough-to-force-a-primary showing during the GOP convention. Faso is conservative, while Weld was much more moderate, and the GOP is setting up this fall's election to be much more black and white for voters. However, a poll says that Spitzer is leading candidates by 50 points. While it's still early and the public needs to know who exactly Faso is, Newsday reports that one person polled said, "I hate Democrats," yet will be voting for Spitzer anyway. GOP, this is what you get for giving us a third term of Pataki.

Wolfmother

To no one's surprise, Senator Hillary Clinton won the NY State Democratic nomination for this fall's Senate race. Which means she got to use her acceptance speech as a possible preview into a run for the presidency someday. The NY Times said that President Bill Clinton kept talking and talking (about Hillary), "until finally, perhaps realizing he was the only politician left in the room, he turned to go." That Bubba - what an operator!

- And this picture is from trying not to offend, where ranex's friends were stuck in the Fifth Avenue Apple Store elevator...at least it's clear, so the store knew they were stuck (we were at the Apple Store in SoHo back in 2002 during the lower Manhattan blackout and people were stuck in that elevator then!)... anyway, the folks got out after 45 minutes and gave the NYPD high marks for their help

- Someone lost a bunny rabbit in Brooklyn, making for an eyecatching "found pet" poster

- Nicolette Sheridan does not look over-Botoxed with fish lips!