John Spencer

The 2006 election was a tough one for the New York Republicans: John Faso, who never had much of a s  read more »

Hillary Clinton told supporters upstate that she is "so relieved and so exhausted" after this campaign season.

Not that she broke much a sweat anywhere during the campaign, but Hillary beat John Spencer in Yonkers, where he was mayor.

The Fix says she's the candidate most likely to win the Democratic nomination, but... "From a policy perspective, she may be vulnerable. Clinton's stance on the war in Iraq is out of step with many in the Democratic base, and she is clearly vulnerable to a challenge from someone who has been opposed to the war from the start."

Wesley Clark may announce whether he'll run for president in two months.

There are exactly 448,077 who voted against Joe Lieberman...in two elections.

The fate of the Times campaign blog, Empire Zone, is uncertain now that the 2006 races are over.

Also uncertain is the fate of Gifford Miller, who lost the 2005 mayoral election pretty soundly, but was just spotted chatting with likely 2009 mayoral contender Bill Thompson in Puerto Rico.

Ben has memories of people talking about impeaching George Bush and Dick Cheney.

Kos tells James Carville to quiet down after the Ragin' Cajun said Howard Dean should be replaced as head of the DNC.

Steven Malanga of City Journal says there is no pot of gold in DC for the city's congressional delegation.

New York typically ranked number one in per capita spending for social programs. By contrast, Mississippi (to take Rangel's example) received about 25 percent less per capita in social program spending than New York, though Mississippi has a higher poverty rate.

And pictured above is the upcoming New York Times Sunday Magazine post-election issue.  read more »

-- Azi Paybarah

Hillary Clinton said she received John Spencer's concession call and thanked him for a "spirited" campaign.

Dressed in a canary-yellow skirt suit with Bill Clinton looking on from behind her right shoulder, Clinton mocked Vice President Cheney for saying that regardless of tonight's electoral results, the administration would stay "full speed ahead" in the same direction.

Today, she said, the people said, "Not so fast."

--Jason Horowitz

Hillary Clinton told supporters she thanked John Spencer for running a "spirited" campaign, and had a message for anybody listening from outside New York.

"There's so much work to be done, but with your help we will move forward. Last week, the Vice President said regardless [of the outcome today] the administration will go full speed ahead in the same direction.

"Well, I think the American people have said not so fast.

"Together, we have chosen a new course."

[skip]

"We have made a statement here tonight. We believe in who we are as a state and we believe in our country and we're going to take it back starting tonight."

-- Azi Paybarah

Don't expect any last-minute attacks on Hillary Clinton from John Spencer in these waning days of the campaign.

"We're running a campaign on principles," Spencer's spokesman Rob Ryan told me. "We're talking about issues that are core republican issues, and we're talking about Senator Clinton's failure to properly serve the people of New York."

"It's obviously a tough year for Republicans in New York State and for that matter, nationally. So we're going to make the best effort possible. This has been an issue-oriented campaign and it's going to remain one. And we'll see what happens on Election Day."

How bad is it this year?

Ryan said, "This is pretty much what it was like 30 years ago. It was 1976, you were coming out of Watergate, Nelson Rockefeller was out of New York State and no longer governor...this is the state things were in." But, he said it's times like these that "open up the shot at rebuilding."  read more »

-- Azi Paybarah

A reader notes John Spencer is in a category of his own.

Unlike John Faso, Jeanine Pirro and Chris Callaghan, Spencer hasn't come out with an ad criticizing his opponent for being "friend" or "running mate" of Alan Hevesi.

(Hillary, who is flustered with answering questions about Hevesi, called him a friend and stood by him with conviction.)

"We put out statements and have gone on record saying he should resign," Spencer spokesman Rob Ryan told me, by way of explanation. "We've gotten the message out there. And remember, those other people are running for state office."

-- Azi Paybarah

Hillary Clinton was machine-gunning through her first debate on Friday night in the University of Ro  read more »

Hillary Clinton was machine-gunning through her first debate on Friday night in the University of Ro  read more »

Not willing to let a bad story die quietly, John Spencer took a swipe at Ben today for quoting him suggesting that Hillary Clinton had plastic surgery.

Referring back to the denial strategy I thought he abandoned, Spencer told The Resident that Ben's article "was a total fabrication and a bold-faced lie."

The best part though, is the name-calling:

Spencer said Smith had previously portrayed him unfairly when he was writing for the New York Observer. "But I didn't say anything about it," he said. "I just read it and said, 'This guy must be a loose cannon or something, I don't know.'"

Yeah. Ben's a loose cannon. -- Azi Paybarah

NOTE: This post, which is about an argument over accuracy in reporting, has been corrected. It originally said that Spencer was quoted saying that Hillary Clinton "needs plastic surgery." It has now been changed to reflect more accurately what Ben reported, which is that Spencer suggested that both Hillary Clinton and Jeanine Pirro had had "work" done to improve their looks. Spencer was not quoted using the words "plastic surgery" or suggesting that Hillary still needs it.  read more »

Hillary Clinton's speech last night at the Queens County Democratic Organization's dinner at Antun's got two thumbs up from new-ish county leader Joe Crowley.

Other quick highlights:

Assemblywoman Vivian Cook said she'll raise money so John Spencer can get a face lift.

Ousted state Senator Ada Smith got a shout-out from the dais.

And Hillary told the crowd that Washington needs to get back to "Clinton economics." (Insert 2008-centric interpretation here.)  read more »

-- Azi Paybarah

After Ben reported John Spencer's comments about Hillary Clinton's need for cosmetic surgery, the strategy has been to deny, deny deny.

Now, a priest who is guest blogging on the pro-Spencer blog, NewsCopy, links to his extended post on the situation in which he essentially calls Spencer a liar.

"Spencer denied it, kind of, but anyone who knows him knows that sometimes his lips move too fast before his conscience shuts down his internal verbal pump. He's done it in the past - I was there several times when it has happened. It will happen in the future."

Spencer's attack on the priest is surely moments away.

-- Azi Paybarah

Jason Horowitz takes a look at Pete King, a wartime congressman who, unlike most of his Republican colleagues and fellow candidates, isn't scared of talking about the war. "I am what I am," he said. He's a hawk, but will that hurt him in November?

Choire Sicha hits the roads of Hillaryland, where the onetime "cutie" stares daggers into John Spencer at the debate in Rochester. He also observes the sophisticated mechanics of the Hillary news cycle: reporters want to know about 08, so Hillary talks about 08, and then reporters write about Hillary talking about 08.

John Koblin has the goods on Bill Clinton's three-day 60th birthday bash. He tells us who's going (Burkle!) how much guests are paying (60 - 500 grand) the entertainment (The Rolling Stones, golfing) and who's tired of Bill's endless fund-raising carnivals (much of New York.)

Steve Kornacki follows the ripples of Barack Obama's announcement that he is "considering" a presidential run all the way into the House. Sure, the country's lone black Senator is generating great excitement, but what about guys, like, Charlie Rangel, who have helped run the country for decades? Why hasn't anybody ever been excited about any of them?

And Joe Conason is evermore depressed by the Republican leadership and the spiraling situation in Iraq.  read more »

The Times Union wins a lawsuit against Joe Bruno and Sheldon Silver over hiding information about member items.

Early and Often takes a close look at the aesthetic evolution of Hillary Clinton and John Spencer.

The Empire Zone says that Eliot Spitzer is creeping away from Alan Hevesi.

Rudy Giuliani will spend election night in Iowa.

Max Shreck thinks Hillary Clinton came off more human after this latest John Spencer flap.

Bill Clinton will campaign in Babylon, Long Island, where he hasn't been since 1991.

Mike Bloomberg hones his independence message. So does John McCain.

Dick Morris and Sean Hannity agree: Republicans are smarter than, um, everyone.

Some people in San Francisco hate trees.

Wyoming had a debate worth watching.

And above is Adam Green, who enjoys reading your emails.

-- Azi Paybarah

One problem with saying wacky things are the wacky follow-up questions. Here's a snippet from John Spencer's surreal appearance on NY1 last night. Dominic Carter: For the record Mr. Spencer, lets put this to rest right tonight. It really doesn't have any role in the campaign, but do you find Hillary Clinton to be an attractive woman? John Spencer: I've always, I've always said that. I said it the other day. I like Hillary Clinton. And I said she'd make a terrific candidate for president because we'll beat her. She's a liberal. DC: But physically, do you find her to be an attractive woman? JS: [mumble]. She's not ugly. That's for sure. Hehehe. DC: How about back in the day when she was a young lady? JS: I didn't use that word. DC: But back in the day, did you find her to be an attractive woman? JS: No, that's not that Dominic. I don't know. I didn't look at her back in that day. What I'm saying is look at pictures of me back in the 60s. Whew. Look at pictures of anybody. -- Azi Paybarah

Phil Reisman recalls John Spencer's habit of sticking his foot in his mouth.

When I asked Spencer if he would paint Clinton with the "L" word, liberal, he replied facetiously, "I'm just gonna highlight her record. You know me, how words slip out. As long as I don't call her a lesbian, I'm OK."

The Post reports on darker days ahead for Alan Hevesi, while the paper's editorial board calls this the End of Alan.

The Sun piles on.

A mayoral commission recommends pay raises for city officials.

Eliot Spitzer and John Faso agree on major transportation projects.

The Times tracks Joe Lieberman's word choice over the years in describing the war in Iraq.

A report by good government groups says that lobbyists for the real estate industry, trial lawyers and others have exceeded contribution limits since 2000.

Independent voters prefer Democrats over Republicans 2:1 nationally.

Hurray! FOIL requests can be dealt with via email.

-- Azi Paybarah

While things may look grim for John Spencer, who is once again in the position of having to deny his own quotes, he's certainly getting more attention now.

He'll be on NY1 tonight, Fox News this afternoon and he'll appear tonight on Inside Edition. (Seriously.)

As for apologizing to Hillary for the comments, don't bet on it.

Spencer's spokesman Rob Ryan called to say, "There's nothing to apologize for. John Spencer never said she was ugly. Never said she had plastic surgery. And that's a fact."

-- Azi Paybarah

John Spencer responded this morning to the front-page story in the News, in which he is quoted at length talking about Hillary's physical appearance, ("You ever see a picture of her back then? Whew,") and predicting defeat for fellow Republican Jeanine Pirro. Less than a day after practically introducing himself to New Yorkers on television, this is surely not the best way for Spencer to ingratiate himself to the state's voters or G.O.P.

And so Spencer, who complimented Hillary during the debate as a potentially "tremendous" presidential candidate, kicked into damage control mode this morning. He said on the WABC radio program Curtis and Kuby (audio on its way) that Ben, who reported the story, didn't hear him correctly. (Ben was sitting right next to one seat away from him, and said he typed Spencer's words directly into his omnipresent Blackberry.)

"It's so ridiculous that Ben Smith the blogger sitting next to me on an airplane, who quite frankly, made statements that I surely wouldn't repeat about other candidates in the race. He was in a giddy mood making statements, so I think in his conversational mind with a jet engine blowing in his right ear, uh, we had a rambling conversation about the sixties. That's what our conversation was about and how he came out with those ridiculous fabrications is beyond me."

Ben said he stands by his story. UPDATE: Here's that clip of Spencer. The denial seems to fit into Spencer's pattern of denying his own quotes.

-- Azi Paybarah

John Spencer predicted that Jeanine Pirro is going to lose to Andrew Cuomo and accused Hillary Clinton of having gotten some work done. A potentially more serious headache for Mrs. Clinton may be caused by the news that Barack Obama is considering a presidential run in 2008.

The Times says reporters asking Hillary Clinton and John Spencer questions at Sunday's debate "made little headway at illuminating new shades to Mrs. Clinton's personality or ambitions." Newsday recaps the debates and notes Spencer hasn't read his own website in months.

Good government groups want Alan Hevesi to debate his opponent, Christopher Callaghan, who may have his own ethics problems.

Bill Thompson is considered the most likely candidate to replace Hevesi if he steps down as state comptroller.

George Pataki's picks for federal judgeships may not get approved if the House goes Democratic after this midterm election.

The New York Times profiles Tom Kean, Jr.

A Harvard University panel gave Mike Bloomberg and Joel Klein high marks on the city's schools.

A City Councilman wants to ban cell phones in restaurants.

And, as if the midterm elections weren't surreal enough, we now have fantasy congress.

-- Azi Paybarah

The New York Times enthusiastically endorses Eliot Spitzer for governor, begrudgingly endorses Andrew Cuomo for attorney general, and backs Dave Mejias and John Hall for congress.

Ben notes Vito Fossella's re-election race gets more interesting.

In the comptroller's race, The Poughkeepsie Journal endorses challenger Chris Callaghan, and writes:

"In light of all the scandals and ethical lapses in our political systems, voters should give Callaghan a chance to serve, even though Hevesi is the more qualified candidate."

As for Hillary's debate this morning with John Spencer: a surprising note. John Spencer said he thought Hillary would be a "tremendous" candidate for president. He won't vote for her, but tremendous.

The Observer's Choire Sicha went down to watch the debate live and emails to say:

"At the ABC studios on 67th and Columbus, Bill came to pick Hillary after work. aww! They went down the line of supporters together, then hopped in the waiting van and headed south past Lincoln Center."

-- Azi Paybarah

Hillary was hawkish on North Korea, less aggressive on universal health care, and non-committal about 2008. There were no questions about gay marriage, abortion, and Hillary didn't wear her cross. Best slip was when John Spencer said he did not support building a 2,000-mile fence along the US-Mexico border which, according to his website, he supports.

Choire Sicha, our man in Rochester, emailed to say:

A CNN reporter got John Spencer in the media room. But not Hillary--she's signed a few baseballs and she's out!

And any anybody who went to Hillary's debate watch party on Third Avenue, feel free to boast about how much fun you had.  read more »

-- Azi Paybarah

I couldn't resist posting this.

Hillary Clinton noted that Abraham Lincoln "didn't hesitate" to change generals during the Civil War, and that said "We have a secretary of defense who is not credible anymore."

John Spencer responded, "Abraham Lincoln changed generals...you're not president yet Mrs. Clinton, so don't call for that."

-- Azi Paybarah

In an interview yesterday with HOY, John Spencer rejected the notion in a recent Robert Novak column that the national GOP has completely abandoned his campaign against Hillary Clinton.

Spencer said he, personally wasn't dumped: the party is actually giving up on all of New York.

"I'm the Republican endorsed candidate in New York State. I think the Republican Party in NYS is going through a difficult transition with governor Pataki leaving. There is a little discombobulation if you will in the state party. But I've earned the Republican and the Conservative designation and -- The National Republican Party -- is not a judgment on me; it's a judgment on New York State. They've given up on New York State, you know, they say it's too liberal. I respectfully disagree with them."

I'm not sure if this part of the interview will get left on the editing floor at HOY, but either way, it'll be worth a read when it comes out.

-- Azi Paybarah

Today's Quinnipiac poll shows Alan Hevesi's lead over Chris Callaghan is down 6 percentage points from the poll taken two weeks ago.

Hillary Clinton said the public is growing concerned about websites like MySpace, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch, who hosted a fund-raiser for her earlier this year.

The New York Sun publishes John Spencer's 15-page letter to Eliot Spitzer in which Spencer said as Westchester DA, Jeanine Pirro's "tactics were outrageous and the real criminals were being protected by her."

During the debate, Cuomo demanded Pirro respond to the letter and said she was currently under investigation by the state attorney general.

The Truth Squad says Cuomo "was painting the situation with too broad a brush."

In his own debate tomorrow, John Spencer has "little to lose" by aggressively going after Hillary Clinton, The New York Sun reports.

The charges against Brian McLaughlin range from "Dickensian (stealing $95,000 from Little League baseball teams to pay his rent) to the brazen (creating two no-show jobs on his legislative payroll and keeping part of one salary)," according to the Times. Some Democrats defended McLaughlin as a stand-up guy.

George Pataki has donated $130,000 to candidates outside New York, according to a recent financial filing.

John Sweeney took a trip overseas with a lobbyist hired by Jack Abramoff and may not have reported it to Congress as required. [added]

John Faso has finally become the Republican Party standard-bearer, but at an unfortunate time.

Rudy Giuliani said Democrats were soft on national security issues.

And two more people connected to Giuliani's former NYPD Commissioner, Bernie Kerik, were busted.

-- Azi Paybarah

The Times notes that Hillary Clinton's has carefully skirted the presidential battleground states of Iowa and New Hampshire in the course of her travels, and reports on her prediction that many Republicans will be voting for Democrats this year.

Some of John Spencer's donors gave in excess of the $2,100 contribution limit. The campaign may have enough money for a modest media buy.

Brian McLaughlin, the former labor leader, is expected to surrender on federal corruption charges today.

Eliot Spitzer said the city should pay about $1 billion to fund the CFE decision, and that reauthorizing mayoral control of schools could be a negotiating tactic. He also said that "the city is technically a subservient political entity to the state, and the state could just mandate that the city's contribution be X."

Joe Bruno said the state Republican Party was hurt because George Pataki has been in "exit mode" for more than a year.

Jeanine Pirro cut into Andrew Cuomo's lead, and said she hasn't read the New York Magazine cover story about her marriage to Al Pirro.

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mike Bloomberg are not only twins but, apparently, best friends.

And Quinnipiac has a poll today showing Democrat Sherrod Brown with a 12-point lead over Mike DeWine in the Ohio Senate race.

-- Azi Paybarah

A potentially important detail in the Jeanine Pirro scandal:

If the boat was technically not her property, investigators theorized that it could bolster their case that onboard intercepted conversations would be illegal

The Post asked Rudy Giuliani about the Pirro-Bernie Kerik-Giuliani Partners connection, and ducked.

Meanwhile, the Times fronts a story about Pirro's opponent, Andrew Cuomo, who invested more than half of his campaign money in a hedge fund and got a 19 percent return on it when the Dow Jones average went up about only 1 percent. Said Democracy 21 watchdog Fred Wertheimer: "There's no way to know what's going on with a hedge fund."

Malcolm Smith flunked his first big press conference as senate minority leader because he couldn't say whether he supported same-sex marriage.

John Spencer says that Hillary Clinton is giving comfort to the terrorists. And the News has a bonus fact: Spencer's campaign account is 1/28 the size of his opponent's.

State Democrats and Republicans argue about who's worse at handling sex scandals.

The Times speculates about the real agenda behind Bill Clinton's high-profile advocacy of good works.

And in another story that the Clinton people are going to love: Mark Foley's sex scandal, George Allen's "macaca" comment and Bill Clinton's fit on FoxNews are signs of a new era in politics, according to the Washington Post.

Cumulatively, the stories highlight a new brand of politics in which nearly any revelation in the news becomes a weapon or shield in the daily partisan wars, and the aim of candidates and their operatives is not so much to win an argument as to brand opponents as fundamentally unfit.

-- Azi Paybarah

Mike Long is not happy with the way things are going for John Spencer.

"It's beginning to look like one of those years that nobody is paying attention," said the Conservative Party chairman, who hopes to raise between $150,000 and $200,000 for Spencer at a fund-raiser at the Sheraton tonight. "He has got to continue to work hard and find money, which his becoming very difficult for him."

Long said that he wished more of the county leaders who rallied behind Spencer and John Faso at the Republican convention had spent more time out campaigning against Hillary Clinton and Eliot Spitzer.

"Not every one of my leaders are working, but in the last two weeks a lot of people have gotten engaged," he said. He also blamed the press for ignoring the two Republican-Conservative candidates.

"There is a turn-off valve someplace," he said.

--Jason Horowitz

The Observer's Ted Bressman passes along a couple of notes from a campaign stop with John Spencer yesterday afternoon outside the Queens Mall:

Staking out a busy section of sidewalk outside the mall, Spencer and several young volunteers tried their best to corral some homebound commuters on Queens Boulevard for a quick conversation or a handshake. A few rebuffed the offer. Most, not knowing who he was, ignored him entirely.

Spencer said he remained upbeat about the way the overall campaign was going.  read more »

"The primary wasn't too helpful," he said. "But now things are going very well. We're challenging Senator Clinton to debates" and, he said, "to talk about issues facing the state and the nation."

As for the enormous disparity in campaign funding, Spencer said he was still hopeful that he'd be able to make an impact: "Obviously it doesn't help, but we're going to raise enough money to get my message out. I've cut taxes and created jobs. Senator Clinton is pro-tax and pro-big government, and that hurts New Yorkers. She hasn't explained her incumbency. I think this campaign will make her."

Hillary Clinton will debate John Spencer in Rochester on October 20th, which is the best and worst thing to happen to Spencer's campaign so far.

On one hand, it'll put Spencer within camera-shot of the country's biggest political star, giving him a level of exposure he has never enjoyed before and may well never experience again.

But the fact that Hillary has agreed to a debate -- Clinton's office says that other possible debate dates have yet to be determined -- reduces Spencer's 'she won't debate me' argument to a 'she won't debate me enough' argument. Not such a persuasive line of attack, as Tom Suozzi can attest to.

Still, Rob Ryan tries to make the case in this colorful letter [full text after the jump].

Wouldn't a Rob Ryan-Howard Wolfson debate be so much more fun?

-- Azi Paybarah UPDATE: Bingo! This just in from our friends at NY1:

You'll have to wait until Oct. 20th to see Hillary Clinton and John Spencer square off on NY1 but tonight watch Howard Wolfson of Clinton's camp appear with Spencer's top campaign aide, Rob Ryan. It will be a segment on "Inside City Hall" with Dominic Carter you won't want to miss! Tune in at 7 p.m. and at 10:30 p.m. tonight.

UPDATE II: Hillary and Spencer will have a second debate October 22.

Trailing by a world of points behind Hillary Clinton in the polls, John Spencer's campaign has focused its sights on perhaps a more accesible quarry: consultant and spokesman Howard Wolfson.

It's nothing new for campaign managers to write each other pithy, dismissive public letters as an excuse to take shots at the candidates, but the latest missive from Spencer spokesman Rob Ryan -- which takes Wolfson to task for dodging the Spencer campaign's request for lots and lots of debates, mocks him for his work on behalf of Ned Lamont and criticizes his association with the Dubai port deal -- actually attempts to make Hillary's spokesman an issue in the campaign.

"I thought perhaps you were down there helping the government of Dubai purchase defense contractors or attain the rights to operate American ports. It must be hard to explain to a client that, while President Clinton might support such deals, his wife, Senator Clinton, must oppose them because she is intent on running for President and is comfortable taking the most expedient route to get there."

Wolfson didn't seem pleased, but he also wasn't letting Ryan get him off message, which is, basically, that Spencer is nuts.

"My feeling is that if Mr. Spencer isn't threatening to kill me then it is probably a good day, given his history," Wolfson told us. "I tend to say that a lot, because it's true."

He also pointed out that Mrs. Clinton had, in fact, agreed to a debate.  read more »

"Apparently Mr. Spencer's been too busy ranting and raving and running a negative campaign to notice that we agreed to debate last week."

-Jason Horowitz

You probably know this one already: the celebrity Senator—a Democrat from a big Northeastern s  read more »

You probably know this one already: the celebrity Senator—a Democrat from a big Northeastern state  read more »

Hillary Clinton's people wasted no time engaging their Republican opponent, John Spencer. "Given John Spencer's history he probably doesn't consider a campaign negative until he threatens to murder his opponent," Hillary spokesman, Howard Wolfson, said.

One of the corporate leaders backing Eliot Spitzer for governor, John Catsimatidis, was investigated by the attorney general for underpaying deliver workers.

Mayor Bloomberg acknowledged a link between working at Ground Zero and health problems faced by rescue workers.

Complaints about police rose 16% since last year, according to the Mayor's Management Report.

At a City Council hearing, officials wondered how to add "sizzle" and "substance" to the city-owned television station.

Jim McGreevey's efforts to publicize his new book make him look like "a prime example of the irresponsible expectant father," according to the New York Times.

Despite the headline on the New York Post editorial page saying "Run Mike Run!," the paper's editorial board writes, "We're not endorsing anyone for president yet; it's way too early for that."

And New Yorkers may not know who he is, but this is a big deal: John Lynch, long one of New Jersey's dominant political power brokers, is pleading guilty to federal corruption charges.

-- Azi Paybarah

It's a campaign!

The press release Hillary Clinton just sent out about John Spencer's attacks appears to mark her first overtly aggressive maneuver of this election cycle. It should serve as something of an alarm to the Spencer folks that, after the bumpy but ultimately easy ride against KT McFarland, life is about to become considerably more challenging.

"If comparing Senator Clinton to Osama bin Laden is what John Spencer's 'positive' campaign looks like, what do his negative campaigns consist of?" Howard Wolfson said in the release. "Given John Spencer's history he probably doesn't consider a campaign negative until he threatens to murder his opponent. It's unfortunately very clear that John Spencer is determined to run a negative, personal campaign against Senator Clinton."

After the jump is the whole thing, which includes an early sampling of opposition research that, we're guessing, isn't all they've got.  read more »

-- Jason Horowitz UPDATE: Rob Ryan sends over this response:

"Senator Clinton is a "left-wing anti-defense liberal" that's not being negative, it's simply a fact. John Spencer wants to have numerous debates so Senator Clinton can personally explain her opposition to the Patriot Act, NSA wire-tapping and a host of other issues."

So if you think turnout is going to be low for the Democrats, just think about the Republicans. Without primaries for governor or attorney general to attract voters to the polls, the only thing going for them -- from the perspective of moving voters to polling places -- is the Jerry Springer-esque Senate contest between John Spencer and KT McFarland.

Rob Ryan, Spencer's spokesman, said he doubts that the Republican turnout will even break 200,000 statewide. And naturally, he predicts that the low turnout would work to Spencer's advantage: "A lot of this is going to depend on who can bring out the vote; she (McFarland) has no base except for a couple of matrons on the Upper East Side. We have Yonkers and the Republican party getting out the vote for us."

Ryan also pointed out that Yonkers is bigger than Syracuse, which, if we follow his logic, is a good thing. McFarland's campaign counters that her "kitchen talks" with voters across the state have won her the support of women outside of Park Avenue, who will come out to the polls in droves.

"We believe we are going to have strong support among women," said Morgan Ortagus-Dobbs, McFarland's spokeswoman. "We have been to the homes of so many women."

Ortagus-Dobbs also had this piece of speculation about what would happen if, in the end, Spencer prevails:

"I don't know how he (Spencer) thinks he is going to be able to debate Hillary Clinton if he can't even stand up to KT."

--Jason Horowitz

John Spencer is going statewide with the 30-second biographical ad he released right before his debate with KT McFarland last month. A Spencer spokesman said they'll be running the ad on cable, since, according to their research, Republican primary votes watch plenty of cable news (read: Fox News).

Spencer's other ads, with images of Hillary Clinton and the president of Iran, are not scheduled to run for the rest of the primary, according to spokesman Rob Ryan. Either Spencer is taking the high road, or his campaign is pretty confident KT McFarland won't be on air any time soon.

-- Azi Paybarah

There's something to be said for shock value, I suppose.

John Spencer has reacted to this week's foiled air terror plot by taking out what I assume to be a pretty limited cable TV buy for this spot, which features images of Hillary Clinton and - who else? -- Osama bin Laden.

After a female narrator scolds the senator for opposing "the Patriot Act and the NSA wiretaps that helped stop another 9-11," John Spencer has this remarkable, apparently un-ironic kicker: "That's wrong. I'm John Spencer, and I approve this message because I won't play politics with our security."

-- Josh Benson

Short, sweet, and to the point. Notice the prominent use of the word 'fiasco' with the close-up of Andrew Cuomo. So is 'comparison' now a euphemism for, uh, attack? (Attack via surrogates, but still...)

But what else do you expect from the Blue Donkey Group, whose message on their website is "I want to win. Period. End of story."?

By the way, don't you think if KT McFarland and John Spencer had any money, they'd have ads like this?

--- Azi Paybarah

Now that was a nasty debate.

I'm not sure that either John Spencer or KT McFarland will have been helped by their televised confrontation on NY1 last night. McFarland talked about Spencer's marital problems, and he told that she ought to be ashamed of her comments "as a mother of children."

But there has to be a winner, right? (Aside from Hillary Clinton, that is.)

According to an overnight poll of 14 people on Urban Elephants -- and ignoring, for the sake of this exercise, any notion of a margin of error -- it's Spencer by a mile.

-- Josh Benson

The Times reports Hillary Clinton contributes $5,000 and offers to campaign with Ned Lamont.

The Daily News reports that at last night's debate between John Spencer and KT McFarland "There was only one clear winner and she wasn't in the room."

The Albany Times Union reports the AFL-CIO has been urged not to endorse Andrew Cuomo for attorney general.

—Nicole Brydson

The Daily News reports relatives of the late James Davis are pulling their endorsement of David Yassky.

Ben Smith reports that three aides to John Spencer quit, leaving the campaign in disarray.

The Sun reports on New York lawmakers who are opposed to the Electoral College.

—Nicole Brydson

Here's part of a typically measured statement John Spencer just sent out about Hillary Clinton's uncertain attitude towards confirming U.N. Ambassador John Bolton:

"Dissent and debate are healthy in the democratic process, but now is not the time to question a presidential appointment. I call on Senator Clinton to stop playing politics with national security and join in support of the Bolton appointment. Anything less sends the wrong message to the nation and the world. If Senator Clinton truly supports Israel, if she really believes that we need to get tough with Iran and North Korea, then she should see that John Bolton is the man for the job. If, on the other hand, she believes that making news to promote her candidacy for President is appropriate she should continue her caterwauling in the halls of Congress."

-- Josh Benson  read more »

Last fundraising-related post of the day...

Remember how more than half of Rick Lazio's donors in the 2000 Senate race came from out of state?

That was nothing, apparently, by the standards of Candidates Running Against Hillary Clinton.

John Spencer, who listed 39,000 people as donors in the last fundraising period, has drawn 90 percent of his campaign cash so far from outside New York, according to his campaign.

-- Josh Benson

As KT McFarland shakes off today's Post report and prepares for her big fund-raiser tonight with all those Reagan-era Cold Warriors, Rob Ryan wonders (aloud, to us) what one attendee thinks about a recent statement from KT campaign manager Ed Rollins.

The attendee: General P.X. Kelley, former commandant of the Marine Corps.

The statement, from a recet New York Magazine story, was that "There were so many guys getting killed in Vietnam that it wasn't so difficult [for Spencer to be made first lieutenant]--and it wasn't so difficult to get a Bronze Star."

McFarland's campaign said that Rollins has already addressed the comment ("I never intended to cast aspersions on John Spencer's military record. I have only respect for anyone who has served or is serving our country,") and argued that they are focused only on Spencer's record as Mayor of Yonkers.  read more »

Ryan doesn't buy it: "KT McFarland has Ed Rollins and his surrogates throw mud and then she sits there and acts oblivious to everything that goes on around her. She has to be accountable for the actions of her staff."

- Jason Horowitz

On Urban Elephants, Rob Ryan explains the recent lull in John Spencer's public campaign activity:

"It's f****** summer in New York... No one pays attention until 3 weeks out... And by the time the primary comes, Joe Six-Pack just wants to know who the conservative is."

-- Josh Benson UPDATE: It has been pointed out to me that