And Don’t Let The Door Hit You On The Way Out

We New Yorkers, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, are not shy people.
We honk incessantly, yell without provocation and generally exude all-around distrust.
And when a party is over, we will tell you bluntly, “It’s time for you to go.”
Well, it seems after last week, Governor George Pataki should start turning out the lights.
The party’s over.
We’ve all seen this before. A lot more larger-than-life personalities than Pataki have hit the bricks harder in New York politics over my lifetime alone.
I’ve seen Ed Koch told to kindly pack his things. Ditto Mario Cuomo. And most recently, Senator Pothole himself, Al D’Amato, from whom we once couldn’t get enough pasta jokes, was relieved of his duties in 1998 by Chuck Schumer.
In each of these cases, it wasn’t necessarily the opponent who wowed us so much we just had to have them, like a new toy. I mean, David Dinkins topped Koch in the 1989 Primary and then bested a guy named Rudy Giuliani for the mayor’s seat (can we get a mulligan there?). Pataki took out Cuomo in ’94 after that Governor’s third term and now we’ve had it up to here with Pataki’s antics nearing the end of his third term. Isn’t it all just oh-so ironic?
And as much as Schumer turned out to be the real deal, back then all we knew is that he wouldn’t make any more pasta jokes, and that was good enough for us. He was hired.
Now, poor George is facing a myriad of issues that he just can’t seem to get right. He’s really not to blame for the delay of the Ground Zero development. But last week, after he announced everything was on hold, you could just see the dam cracking as everyone piled on the criticism.
The fact is, we all rushed it because we all wanted to. We wanted the symbolic height of 1,776 feet for the Freedom Tower. We loved that it would be the world’s tallest building. (As it turns out, we may have some competition over in Dubai).We liked the fact the cornerstone was laid on July 4, even if we weren’t ready to lay a cornerstone then. We wanted this symbol of defiance and national pride up in our skyline as soon as possible.
But the truth is, we all needed a time out to figure out minor details like safety and building integrity.
And while I’m on it, let’s call the Emperor on his new clothes. As pretty as it is, the top half of the building isn’t really even a building. It’s more akin to the KVLY-TV tower in North Dakota — the world’s tallest structure — than a building. My definition: If it doesn’t have a bathroom, it shouldn’t count as a floor.
But I digress.
Pataki is even being harpooned for the budget. It was passed on time by the Senate and Assembly for the first time since I was playing with Star Wars figures (the first time around) and all people said was, “Where’s the money for education, health care, Medicaid, etc.?” It was a public relations disaster. And again, Pataki took the hit. Seems the buck always stops at his office.
Pataki has said he will make up his mind soon whether or not to even run for a fourth term. Sources say that decision is coming in June. Perhaps he will read the tea leaves and, well, leave on his own terms. Perhaps he will go for it. He’ll likely have Eliot Spitzer waiting for him if he does.
He’s probably better off making a national name for himself by continuing to fund Republican candidates from his 21st Century Freedom PAC.
Oops, nope, check that. Even his Virginia-based PAC is garnering criticism for taking contributions that would be illegal in New York.
On second thought, maybe he should just lay low for awhile.
• Welcome to the world, Elliot Staple. We look forward to your vote in 2023.
politics@queenscourier.com