THE DROP-OUT LIST GROWS AGAIN – AT 7:29 P.M. ET:  Scandal-plagued and governmentally challenged Governor David Paterson of New York has announced that he will not run for a full term.

You may recall that, in this soap opera, Paterson succeeded Governor Eliot Spitzer when Spitzer was forced to resign in a prostitution scandal.  Paterson is being forced out by a series of revelations about improper influence surrounding an aide's domestic violence problems.  One thing about New York:  When we have scandals, they're intimate and gossipy.  None of this mishandling of public funds nonsense. 

Paterson's withdrawal paves the way for Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, son of former Governor Mario Cuomo, to become the Democratic nominee.

Is it an opportunity for Republicans?  Not really.  New York is heavily Democratic, and, unless it's revealed that Cuomo is secretly married to John Edwards, he should win easily in November.  His probable opponent will be ill-fated former Republican Congressman Rick Lazio, last seen in a losing fight against Hillary Clinton for a Senate seat several political generations ago.

There's also a Senate seat up again in New York, which could provide an opportunity for Republicans, but so far no credible candidate has stepped forward.  The GOP in New York is weak and unimaginative.  The party tends to be owned by the highest-ranking Republican official in the state.  It used to be Nelson Rockefeller's toy.

So, for now, New York stays blue unless someone on a white horse rides in.

February 26, 2010