The Empire State's Clotheless Emperor

New York Governor George E. Pataki is considering a run for the Presidency or Vice Presidency in 2008. On what record exactly? The man first ran for Governor in 1994 as a cut-taxes, cut-spending fiscal watchdog. Another key promise was to re-instate the death penalty in New York State. Even one of his commercials depicted then Governor Mario Cuomo as a tax and spend liberal who flew around the state in a taxpayer-funded helicopter while New York was in financial shambles.
Well, the first couple of years in term one, Pataki did deliver on some of his promises. He cut taxes, spurring economic growth in New York. He got the death penalty reinstated and even reigned in New York's out of control spending addiction a little bit.
Unfortunately, this period of reform was short lived. New York's spending is once again out of control. Taxes are raised in some form every year to cover budget deficits. Along with a whole slew of financial shenanigans (hey guys, how about we issue some more bond debt to raise money!?!?!) that future generations of New Yorkers will be paying for a long time, we are now toying with the idea of legalized gambling to cover some debt. The death penalty? What a laugh. Not one person was put to death the entire time it was reinstated. And, to add insult to injury, it was just reversed by our own overreaching judiciary. What has Georgie done while all his reforms have effectively been thrown out? I don't know, it is hard to ask him. He's busy flying around in Cuomo's old helicopter.