Doddering Dicker

Fred Dicker has now come out with his end of the year list of winners and losers-with one glaring omission in the loser category: himself. The scribe who once got into a fist fight for his renowned journalistic acumen, has apparently lost the ability to count-not to mention the ability to utilize basic deductive reasoning skills.

It seems that Dicker believes, against all evidence, that the Three Amigos are losers and, none other than Malcolm Smith, is one of the year's winners: "The "Gang of Three" renegade Democrats - Sens. Carl Kruger and Ruben Diaz and Senator-elect Pedro Espada - who, seemingly channeling Rod Blagojevich, overplayed their hands by demanding too much power, patronage, perks and pork in exchange for voting for Sen. Malcolm Smith as the new Senate leader."

Well, of course, we're very familiar with historical revisionism, but have never seen it employed before the event in question has even run its course. How else could Dicker, labeling Smith a winner, say the following? "Senate Democratic Minority Leader Malcolm Smith, poised to become the new leader of the Senate despite his heavy-handed and, at times, bumbling approach to fund-raising, a weak and disorganized staff, and continuing trouble from the Gang of Three."

Poised? Poise is the last attribute to be assigned to Smith-the fellow who actually signed off on the "overplay" by the dissidents; and the man who remains three votes short of leadership status. How poised is that, Mr. Dicker? So from our vantage, Dicker becomes one of this year's big journalistic losers-unable to both count, or to exercise sober judgment