An elderly Upper West Side woman was going into diabetic shock in her apartment when her life was saved by a pollster calling to ask her opinions about Mayor Bloomberg. 79-year-old Bobby Berlin was asleep but in dire straights Monday night when the computer pollster operated by the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion rang her up, NBC New York reports. Berlin woke up and managed to pick up the phone, and luckily for her the student manning the "computer-assisted telephone interviewing terminal" noticed something was wrong. more ›

The drumbeat for a Ray Kelly mayoral bid grows stronger every month. The latest Mayor Kelly push comes from former state GOP Chairman William Powers, who is in charge of the party’s newly created statewide “advisory committee." Powers tells the Post's Fred Dicker that Kelly could defeat City Council Speaker Christine Quinn in the general election, even in predominantly left-leaning NYC. "Remember, a lot of people didn’t think Rudy could beat Dinkins because he was a Republican, and he did," Powers tells the Post, adding "BWAHAHAAHA!" more ›

Bill Clinton says he's fine if his wife, the Secretary of State, decides to run for president against Chris Christie in 2016. "I believe that she's being absolutely honest with you when she says she doesn't think she'll go back into politics," Clinton said. "But if she comes home, and we do this foundation stuff for the rest of our lives, I'll be happy; if she changes her mind and decides to run, I'll be happy." Presumably Clinton is referring to an obscure law that "lets husbands of presidents who themselves are former presidents be president again if the president feels sick or just wants a day or two off." more ›

Left for dead in Florida and Nevada, Rick Santorum won all three contests last night in Minnesota, Missouri and Colorado, sending warning signals from Mitt Romney's CPU to the mini replica of the 2001 monolith that stands in for the candidate's heart. At his victory speech, Santorum said he wasn't aiming to become "the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney. I stand here to be the conservative alternative to Barack Obama." more ›

The Vietnam veteran who spotted an SUV packed with explosives while selling handbags in Times Square last year is now running for Congress. Duane Jackson was one of the street vendors who first noticed the Nissan Pathfinder parked on Broadway by 45th Street with its motor running and smoke coming out of it. He alerted police immediately, and was soon hailed a hero, feted by government officials and even receiving a phone call from President Obama. "Kind of going back to that whole May 1st (2010) incident, as I step back, it kind of changed my perspective of where I am in my life right now," Jackson tells LoHud.com. "This is my time to get involved and I’m going to." more ›

For the second time in a week, future president Newt Gingrich blasted the out-of-touch snobs who use our city's subway system. Like most Americans, you've probably never been able to afford a trip on the subway, as it is the exclusive domain of Champagne-sipping dandies who love nothing more than to luxuriate in the MTA's Gilded Age-opulence. But from what we've heard, it's like entering another dimension of sophistication and enchantment, where only the most glamorous citizens ride gold-leaf locomotives along shimmering silver tracks winding through wondrous subterranean cathedrals that none of you lickspittles posses the refinement to appreciate. Populist everyman Gingrich gets this, and today he told a crowd of real Americans in Las Vegas that these "elites" in Manhattan who live in high rises and "ride the subway" are killing this proud nation. more ›

Oh the Internet, always catching politicians with their mouths open. In the latest example of the dangers of the interwebs, the Times today digs into a website purportedly written by potential Republican senate candidate Marc Cenedella. Maybe potential representatives of the Empire State don't want to be on the record as being in support of making March 14 a Steak and Blow Jobs holiday? more ›

Last month we learned that lobbyists for the gas industry spent $3.2 million in lobbying Albany over the last two years to influence lawmakers regarding the controversial tactic of hydraulic fracturing. Now Common Cause has released a report [pdf] detailing that gas companies have contributed $1.34 million to the state's politicians, including $153,816 to governor Andrew Cuomo. "New Yorkers need to be assured that such a controversial issue will be decided based on merit, not money," Common Cause's executive director Susan Lerner tells the Daily News. more ›

President Obama's chief of staff, Bill Daley, announced that he would resign his post at the end of the month. Sources in the White House tell the AP that Daley's letter of resignation, which he submitted last week, took president Obama by surprise. "I have been honored to be in your Muppet Movie a small part of your administration," Daley's letter read. In a brief press conference today, the president said, "There's no question I will deeply miss having Bill by my side at the White House, " and stated that OMB director Jack Lew will take the reins. more ›

To satisfy America's bloodlust for pallid men in funeral attire yelling at each other, the GOP presidential candidates faced off in two debates, twelve hours apart, ahead of Tuesday's New Hampshire primary. At last night's ABC debate at St. Anselm, frontrunner Willard Romney was content to let Ron Paul, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich claw each other's eyes out. But at this morning's NBC/Lunesta debate his rivals came to their senses and with the help of Romney's inability to relate to anyone other than T-1000, attempted to tear down his commanding lead in the polls. more ›

It's the night of the Iowa Caucuses! Everyone run downstairs and look at the Caucus Bush and marvel at how resplendent it is with Super PAC money and tears! At 1,774 precinct stations across the state, registered Republicans will gather at 7 p.m. CST to argue whether Mitt's hair is sexier than Rick Santorum's sweatervests. Polls have Santorum neck-and-neck with Willard Romney, and the man who runs America's most Fair and Balanced resource for on-air errors wants you to "think" about Rick. "Can't resist this tweet, but all Iowans think about Rick Santorum. Only candidate with genuine big vision for country," Rupert Murdoch tweeted. Wow! It's almost as if Santorum once worked for FOX News. more ›

Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul has a loyal base of supporters. We know this as a fact, because who else could inspire people to e-mail us things like, "Your article entitled '3 reasons Ron Paul [will never, ever be president]...etc' is complete garbage. Do you get paid to write that nonsense? Just wondering. Oh, did I mention you're a liar? Just checking." But now, as he emerges as an underdog favorite among those who hate big government, spending on the war, and pot persecution, Paul has to come face to face with charges of racism, in both his newsletters and supporters. more ›

Now that disgraced State Senator Carl Kruger has been forced to retire from a life of, ahem, public service since pleading guilty to corruption charges, the race is on to seize his south Brooklyn district. In one corner, you have Democratic City Councilmember Lewis A. Fidler, who has not officially declared his intention to campaign for the job—though a party insider says he's got enough support to get the nomination. In the other corner, you have local Republican leader David Storobin, who, the Times reports, is "at the top of a very short list" for the nomination. Who are these guys? more ›

New Jersey Governor, non-presidential candidate and Mitt Romney supporter, Chris Christie went on MSNBC's Morning Joe this morning and got right to business, dropping doozies left and right. To start, he dinged on host Mika Brzezinski for being in the "tank" for President Obama, then made some swipes at the President himself (including a few arguably false statements), all the while praising his man Mitt every chance he got. "My problem with the President is that he has not stepped up and led," Christie said, later adding that Obama is "probably the weakest president I’ve seen in my lifetime," and arguing that "I’ve had to face much tougher things in New Jersey from a political perspective than [Obama] has." more ›

In a letter sent yesterday to Mayor Bloomberg and City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio said it's time to take action on a Living Wage bill. The bill, which is currently in limbo in the City Council, would require some companies receiving city tax breaks to pay employees $10 an hour plus benefits or $11.50 without. De Blasio is expected to face Quinn in the Democratic primary for mayor, and the debate over a living wage has put Quinn in a difficult position, because the business community and her mentor Mayor Bloomberg are firmly opposed to it. more ›

In a "remember me, three years ago?" speech in Kansas yesterday, President Obama told the crowd, "This country succeeds when everyone gets a fair shot, when everyone does their fair share and when everyone plays by the same rules." A new report [pdf] from the non-profit organization Public Campaign shows that 30 of the country's largest corporations—including GE, Wells Fargo, Verizon, and Fed Ex—paid more to lobby Congress from 2008 through 2010 than they did in federal income taxes. What country was the president referring to? more ›

Those space age optical scan voting machines that were supposed to enrich a company in Omaha reduce overvotes have backfired spectacularly, according to a new report from the Brennan Center for Justice, which found that in the 2010 election, 20,000 voters in New York State did not have their votes for governor counted because the machines read their choices as "overvotes" (the invalid selection of more than one candidate). And most of the invalidated ballots were cast in areas with higher populations of low-income residents, people of color, and immigrants. more ›

Are you sick of all those boring, avant-garde political ads on TV nowadays? Ron Paul's team finally realized that they needed to boil out all his nettlesome Libertarian beliefs into a simple Declaration of Ass Kicking. Oh, but what about all those "bureaucrats" that will lose their jobs? Too bad. "That's how Ron Paul rolls." more ›

NY Assemblyman William Boyland Jr. was his acquittal on corruption charges earlier this month, but the party is about to end, because the feds just arrested him this morning on new corruption charges. U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch says Boyland solicited more than $250,000 in bribes and took thousands for performing official acts for bribe players. Boyland, who represents Brooklyn's 55th District, allegedly told one undercover agent, "I got a middle guy by the way ... I gotta stay clean ... I got a bag man..." more ›

In our modern era of political "analysts" who are paid to scream mindless talking points written by D.C. thinktanks on slick TV sets, Glenn Greenwald is a reasoned laser beam, armed with copious citations and his experience as a constitutional and civil rights attorney. Though he's often hailed by the left, his columns are dense and unsparing of Democrats and Republicans alike. Greenwald is a graduate of NYU Law and currently splits his time between New York City and Rio De Janeiro, where he lives with his boyfriend. more ›

Last night, "in a surprise twist," Stephen Colbert shared part two of his visit to Occupy Wall Street, in which he tries to make his Colbert Super PAC "playaz" with the "occupyaz." The story picks up right where it left off Monday, up in Colbert's penthouse hotel suite overlooking Zuccotti Park, where the host tries his best to persuade two Occupy Wall Street representatives to agree to a "co-occupation"—with Colbert as the new leader of this "cult." more ›

Of course, that liberal rag, the NY Times, notes, "A major result of adopting a flat tax would generally make the tax system more regressive, thereby reducing the percentage for high-income earners but increasing burden on lower-income groups," and that despised left-winger Mitt Romney is anti-flat tax. more ›

Rick Perry's 2012 Shoot 'Em Up Express has slowed significantly thanks to the candidate's poor debate performances and willingness to help illegal immigrants. Now, the Washington Post delves into the collar-tugging details of the former name of Perry's hunting parcel along the Brazos River: "Niggerhead." more ›