NY's litany of bad eggs

From the NY Times:

New Yorkers are running out of ways to describe Albany as a political version of clown school. Perhaps it is time, then, that they examine what the state of the state says about them. If one believes that people in a democracy get the government they deserve, then we in New York should be unable to look in the mirror without cringing.

We overwhelmingly elected a governor, Eliot Spitzer, who turned out to be hooked on prostitutes. His replacement, David A. Paterson, was never thought of as governor material and now has approval ratings at Cheney levels, somewhere in the subbasement. Albany under Governor Paterson is reminiscent of Afghanistan: nominally commanded by a weak leader, but with powerful warlords ascendant.

We elected a state comptroller, Alan G. Hevesi, who was forced out of office by scandal. Now, some of his closest associates have been indicted on charges of bribery and grand larceny. A reasonable person may infer that Mr. Hevesi either knew about these shenanigans or was out of touch to the point of dereliction.

To boot, we have an appointed United States senator, Kirsten E. Gillibrand, who immediately upon taking office swiveled on so many major issues that you could have suffered whiplash trying to keep up.

Yes, we New York voters have a lot to account for in our choices. Nor is the reckoning limited to statewide officials. The roster of lower-level politicians who have sat in the back of police cars or worn orange jumpsuits has grown depressingly long.