I don’t know how much press this is getting outside of New York, but there is currently a fight going on between George Pataki, the increasingly unpopular Republican governor of New York, and the New York Post, the Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid. The Post recently published transcripts of phone conversations between, among other people, the Governor’s wife, his appointments secretary, and former NY Senator Alfonse D’amato. While there doesn’t seem to be anything particularly groundbreaking on the tapes, they’ve cause a kerfuffle due to the possibility illegality of the taping, as well as the First Lady’s foul mouth.
It’s really tough to figure out who to root for in this one. Pataki, currently in his third term, is pretty much treading water at this point—while he could run for a fourth term, he’s announced that he won’t, most likely in fear of getting trounced by the highly popular state Attorney General Elliot Spitzer, who recently announced his own candidacy. He’s now threatening legal action, but I have to wonder if it won’t come too late to prevent damage to his already quixotic quest for the Republican Presidential nomination in 2008.
On the other side, there’s the NY Post, the aforementioned Worst Newspaper on Earth. When the paper isn’t busy lining the city’s birdcages, it’s mostly frothing at the mouth with the latest pro-Bush talking points. Never a paper to bother with consistency, though, it doesn’t mind biting the Republican hand that feeds it with sensational stories like this one from time to time if it might boost readership.
Personally, I feel this one is a case of a pox on both your houses.
Actually, the only troubling aspect of the whole “controversy” (and believe me, I use that term loosely) is the constant media attention paid to the swearing in the taped conversations. Even NPR’s reports have feature repeated breathless references to “four-letter words” and “profanity-laced exchanges.” Who the hell cares? This isn’t a politician giving a public speech filled with “fuck” and “shit”—it’s his advisors swearing in personal conversations. What’s the big deal?