Take The City And Run

Last night’s debate between New York Democratic gubernatorial candidates Eliot Spitzer and Tom Suozzi was a pretty impressive display on the part of both candidates. And that’s not a statement made lightly. I’m firmly in the Spitzer camp at this point, and haven’t understood Suozzi’s decision to continue his campaign since the state convention, but have to admit that his performance in the debate last night seemed to reveal a man with character and vision who could potentially make a good governor. I still think Spitzer is the superior candidate in this case and have issues with the way Suozzi attempts to portray the Attorney General and his policies/proposals, but it’s fairly exciting to realize that this is the rare occasion where there is actually more than one good candidate in a race. It would be nice if Suozzi could find some way to gracefully bow out of the race and get behind Spitzer, but that looks to be a difficult thing for him to accomplish given the way he’s been attacking the AG. Of course, Spitzer is so far ahead that he’ll likely run away with the general election no matter how long Souzzi’s fangs get before his ultimate exit from the race.

So here’s how I see it: Suozzi could be a good candidate, and, in my opinion, could have a good chance of winning the general election if he were to somehow win the primary. So, the fact that he’s so far behind in the polls isn’t a mark of how weak he is. Rather, it’s a ringing endorsement of how strong a candidate Spitzer is that he’s able to so thoroughly leave behind a potentially good candidate.