Doug Schoen, the pollster who has worked with Bill Clinton on his 1996 reelection and Mayor Bloomberg, is stirring the Bloomberg for President pot again. He tells the Sun that Ralph Nader's decision to enter the 2008 presidential race could help Bloomberg. Schoen explained, "The Democratic candidate, whoever it may be, will have to tack to the left to protect their left flank, and that leaves more room on the center-left." And what with John......

Mayor Bloomberg spoke out about the unofficial results from NYC's primary night undercounted votes in 78 districts. These districts' unofficial results raised eyebrows because no votes at all were recorded Barack Obama. Bloomberg said, "This is just an outrage," and decried the Board of Elections for being a "partisan patronage organization": "What they do is hire on the basis of politics, and obviously the people that they have aren't as competent as you would like,......

After Hillary Clinton's started airing a commercial in Wisconsin questioning why Barack Obama declined to appear in another debate, Obama came back with his own ad. The voiceover says:After eighteen debates, with two more coming, Hillary says Barack Obama is ducking debates? It's the same old politics, the phony charges, and false attacks. On health care, even Bill Clinton's own labor secretary [Robert Reich] even says Obama covers "more people" than Hillary and does......

As of 11:45 p.m., Hillary Clinton and John McCain are projected to win their New York primaries. The Democratic primary distributes NY delegates proportionally, so the final total will be important in determining how many will go to Clinton and how many to Barack Obama. McCain also did well in the Northeast, winning the whole tri-state area, while Mike Huckabee has been strong in the South. Mitt Romney has won Massachusetts, plus some in the......

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Presidential hopeful John Edwards targeted New York son Rudy Giuliani during a speech. The Democratic candidate had earlier called President Bush's "war on terror" a "bumper sticker," which prompted Giuliani to say, "This is not a bumper sticker; the war is a real war." Yesterday, Edwards laid into Rudy by saying, "If Mayor Giuliani believes what President Bush has done is good and wants to embrace it and run a campaign for the presidency saying,......

The latest Quinnipiac poll about New York politics shows that the public is behind Governor Spitzer and his "Steamroller Style." Sixty-one percent say Spitzer's way is "good for the people"; by gender, men like Eliot a little more than women, with 63% men approving to 57% of women. (Men like a man who gets angry!) Interestingly enough, 59% of Republicans approve of Spitzer's attitude - probably because they are enjoying his fight with Assembly leader......

The first battle is over, and Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver has dealt Governor Eliot Spitzer his first defeat. The Democratic-led Assembly selected one of its own, Assemblyman Thomas DiNapoli, to be State Comptroller. Spitzer had recommended three non-lawmaker candidates in the past weeks, but Silver and other Democrats were upset that the panel didn't include their choices. So, proving that politics is beyond any sort of rhyme or reason, the Assembly reneged on a deal......

Last night, the two Democrats interesting in becoming the next Governor of NY State had their only debate. Underdog Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi and Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, the expected winner during this fall's general election, actually had a pretty lively discussion. Here are some notable things:- On Con Ed during the Queens blackout: Spitzer was "stunned" Bloomberg supported Con Ed CEO Kevin Burke while Suozzi said he wouldn't second guess Mayor B -......

The Mayor of New York has always been a player on the national stage. And when it comes to political theatre, the Constitution requires that the show must go on. The right of the public to view debates and other political events is central to democracy. You have a none other than New York politicos Mario Cuomo and Ed Koch to thank when televised debates or election coverage interrupts your favorite shows. It was a......

C. Virginia Fields' campaign has been spinning ever since Fliergate. Yesterday, she held an emergency press conference, with real life Asians (as opposed to Photoshopped ones), telling reporters, "By and large, I knew all of [the people in the montage], except the two Asians in there, I don't know them." Fields' new campaign manager is Chinese - Chung Seto, whom Newsday says holds the "highest position" for an Asian in any campaign. Fields' solution to......

Much to the delight of gay and straight New Yorkers, yesterday's steamy weather meant that there was more reason for marchers in the Gay Pride Parade to go shirtless. If you were downtown, everywhere people would turn there was bound to be a fairly naked, glistening body. New Yorkers enjoyed themselves, and some noted how the parade has become "mainstreamed." The parade was started as to mark the Stonewall uprising in 1969, and some who......

This week, Ask Gothamist answered your questions with all sorts of handy advice: -You just replaced your old leaky air conditioner (just in time, too, give how awful the last few days have been). Now what do you do with the old one? -The humidity also brings out the mosquitoes, and we've got some fun facts. -The Democratic National Convention starts on Monday, which reminds us that it's not too late to register to vote!......

Lloyd Grove gets political and examines Wesley Clark's recent subway journey. And it's official: The Democratic presidential hopeful is a Metrotard (TM The Morning News). After claiming he was riding the subway "Simply because it's the best way to get around the city," Clark tried to swipe his Metrocard at the turnstile, only to get "PLEASE SWIPE AGAIN." Then his aide tried a few times to work the Metrocard. Grove asked if the general......