reality-based educator

Remember when Republicans were crowing how Westchester DA Jeanine Pirro was going to take it to Hillary Clinton in her Senate reelection bid?

Turns out not so much. From the Daily News:

Jeanine Pirro is expected to quit her bid to unseat Sen. Hillary Clinton as early as tomorrow, prematurely ending what had been billed as one of the nation's marquee races.

Just a few months ago, the smart, aggressive and charming Westchester district attorney was the darling of a Republican Party convinced she was the right candidate who - even if she couldn't beat Clinton - could at least slice into her high approval ratings.

But now, Pirro, 54, is being written off as the first political roadkill of the 2006 election season. And Clinton never even had to throw a punch.

What happened?

"She's been hurt by a lack of money and a campaign that from the beginning has been sputtering at best," said Marist College pollster Lee Miringoff.

Pirro, he said, also fell into the trap of making a central issue of her campaign that Clinton harbors presidential ambitions and won't finish a second term, a claim that, even if true, doesn't seem to matter much to most New Yorkers.

GOP insiders said they expect her to toss in the towel tomorrow when Republican leaders meet in Albany to gear up for next year's elections, which also feature races for governor, state attorney general, Congress and all 212 state lawmakers.

Officially, her campaign says Pirro has no plans to quit, but sources said she will be "drafted" to run for attorney general, a job for which many of her backers say she is well qualified given her background as a prosecutor and former judge.

It's the same job some say she should have gone for in the first place. The move to pull Pirro out of the Senate bid might be a signal that the state GOP will concentrate instead on the governor's race and boosting Pirro for attorney general. A potential candidate to replace Pirro is former Yonkers Mayor John Spencer, a relative unknown to most New Yorkers.

Sources close to the Pirro camp said Clinton's popularity was not her only obstacle. Besides her fund-raising problem, Pirro also was hurt by the media spotlight on her husband, Al Pirro, a lobbyist who did prison time for tax evasion.

She also didn't help her own cause with an embarrassing campaign launch when she went speechless before cameras for 32 seconds, then asked where the missing page of her speech was.

Pirro's friend Bill O'Shaughnessy, owner of Westchester radio station WVOX, blamed an aggressive media and a "good ol' boys" network that never gave her a chance. "This is like the gal who got all dressed up for the ball but never got a chance to go on the dance floor to hear the orchestra," he said.

Pirro is "smart" and "charming"? Really?

Frankly, she came across as stupid, petulant, and corrupt in her Senate campaign. And the fact that her husband, Al, is a Gambino Family associate didn't help sell the public on Pirro's trustworthiness or honesty.

Oh, well. I guess the media isn't going to get the "catfight" they wanted and the GOP isn't going to get the Hillary-stopper they wanted . Remember how the Clinton/Pirro match-up got billed in this story from the Daily News on January 27, 2005?

When Sen. Hillary Clinton runs for reelection in 2006, her opponent might just be another high-profile attorney from Westchester.

Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro is considering challenging the former First Lady, according to political insiders.

The GOP crimefighter, who is running for reelection this year, is not publicly discussing plans for higher office.

But Pirro has a dizzying fund-raising schedule and the enthusiastic backing of Gov. Pataki. "We love Jeanine," said a source in Pataki's camp.

Sources say it is becoming less likely by the day that former Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who may be eying the White House, will challenge Clinton for the Senate seat.

A Clinton-Pirro contest has the makings of a marquee matchup between two controversial and ambitious women.

"This wouldn't be just a battle," longtime Pirro friend and Westchester radio station owner Bill O'Shaughnessy told the Daily News. "It would be a catfight, and my money would be on Jeanine."

"There'll be more interest in this than in 'Desperate Housewives,'" he added.

So now if the media wants to see a Desperate Housewives episode, they'll have to turn on TV.

I'm glad Pirro's candidacy imploded under her own incompetency and charmlessness. Now the wankers at the Daily News, Post, and Times won't get to write their "catfight" stories this election season.

But after watching the creepy Pirro for a few months during her candidacy, I'm also glad she's pulling out simply because she seems like an arrogant, privileged fuckhead.

And we already have enough arrogant, privileged fuckheads elected in New York.