New York's Accidental Governor Is Trying

Very trying. Trying one's patience. And probably trying really hard. Gov. Hochul's terrible judgment leads to one terrible day

I wanted to title this post "A Series of Unfortunate Events," but I thought it was a bit much.

First, though, the subway-shootings press conference — a performance that challenges the ability of mere words to describe, though not to worry: It’ll be coming soon to campaign commercials near you.

Here’s a tiny taste: “This morning, ordinary New Yorkers left their homes en route to a normal day. Their sense of tranquility was interrupted by an individual so coldhearted and depraved of heart that they had no caring …” and so on. Not much in the way of comfort there, unless it helps to know that coldhearted and depraved subway-shooters have no caring.

Aside from her rhetorical skills, the governor also has a scandal to deal with. Her hand-picked, lieutenant governor, Brian Benjamin, was just arrested on federal corruption charges. (Makes me homesick for Chicago!)

New York was in something of a budget crisis, in that they failed to pass a budget by the deadline, but think they stumbled across the finish line before paychecks had to be delayed.