Wayne's World: Barrett's Right on Target

In talking to Wayne Barrett we're always taught something new. His take on the election is a case in point. A couple of day's ago we indicated that if Freddy had $70 million in March to go after the mayor the results would have certainly been different. Wayne in response pointed out that Freddy wouldn't have needed that much money if both candidates had agreed to comply with the campaign finance system.

He' so right and as he further points out if Bloomberg had done so he would have most certainly had a Republican primary and would have been forced to protect his right flank, with certain consequences for the general election. In addition, Bloomberg also proved that if your ads were varied and clever you could carpet bomb the ethnic communities to great effect. As Barrett says, anyone who tuned in to Black radio would have seen the total inundation, a barrage that got the mayor an impressive 47-51 split.

One last thing on the Barrett front. Wayne says that the mayor got word from Mr. Sulzberger at the Times that, at least for this election, the CFB would not serve as a litmus test for the Grey Lady, something that it has done for all previous elections since the law, passed at the Times behest, went into effect.

All of which makes yesterday's Times editorial somewhat perverse. That the paper would go after the mayor on campaign finance on the morning of his landside (literally after the fact) raises questions about how seriously the rest of us should take the paper when they pontificate on this issue.