New York...They Want to Be a Part Of It

And let the wrangling over Hillary Clinton's now-vacant Senate seat...begin! I don't envy New York Gov. David Paterson the job. If this CQ article is to be believed, the contest is rapidly becoming a free-for-fall brawl among different constituencies.

You've got Gothamites vs. Upstates, blacks vs. Hispanics, moderates vs. liberals, and Long Islanders vs. everybody else. Someone is going to come out of this whole mess thinking Paterson stabbed them in the back.

My bet? Andrew Cuomo seems the most likely. He's a white male, sure, which is bound to disappoint a couple big interest groups. But he's the closest thing there is to a consensus candidate. After all, the name "Cuomo" still counts for something in the Empire State's Democratic circles. Plus, as CQ notes, appointing him would take away Paterson's biggest potential rival in the 2010 Democratic primary.

Of course, there's always the lurking possibility of Senator Bill Clinton. I think--and this is just my opinion, based on absolutely nothing at all--that Bill will want to stick close to the White House and Foggy Bottom. He wouldn't want the distraction that comes with being a US Senator. And when you figure in his outsize personality, it's hard to see him consent to becoming Senator #100 of 100. Not when he can be "Ambassador to the World" in the new administration.