New York State of Insanity

The way the New York Times tells it, following New York’s Senate Seat Shuffle, Andrew Cuomo is stronger and Governor Paterson is weaker:

Polls showed Mr. Cuomo had been the overwhelming favorite of New York voters, and a broad range of party leaders had declared him the most qualified contender for the Senate seat. Unlike other aspirants, Mr. Cuomo did not publicly campaign for the post, and he largely restrained aides from lobbying for him or against his rivals.

Mr. Paterson, by contrast, was enduring some of the harshest news coverage of his 10-month tenure, with newspaper editorials calling him “inept” and “not ready for prime time” for an appointment process that was never terribly orderly and plainly unraveled with the messy public exit of Caroline Kennedy from the field of contenders.

The contrast was not lost on Mr. Cuomo’s boosters. “The irony is, his position politically in New York is stronger today than it ever has been, and Paterson’s is weaker,” said an associate of Mr. Cuomo’s. The associate and several others interviewed requested anonymity because they did not want to create problems for Mr. Cuomo or themselves.

And — oh, right — that virtual Sarah Palin Clone, Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand, will become a respected Senator. And Camelot veteran Caroline Kennedy is now a punchline. So the way I read it, Palin’s crime was to be from the wrong state, and Kennedy’s problem is that she’s apparently too rich and ignorant to serve in the Senate.

New York politics are weird.