[John Jorsett]

This race has a long way to go. Davis hasn't even begun to open up his wallet and pour forth the obliquy on Simon yet. It's a poor position to be in, having to say 'vote against that guy' rather than 'vote for me' but that's the tack Davis will take, and maybe he'll even succeed in making Simon look like Hitler redux. I hope Simon knows how to fight dirty, because that's what's it's going to come down to. On the plus side, the legislature looks like it's going to raise taxes bigtime, and if Davis signs on to it, people will remember. He's also started to tell the teachers that he might not be able to give schools the full complement of money called for under proposition 98, and that's going to tick some folks off. They might not vote for Simon, but staying home will be just as good.

[Clemenza]

It's a poor position to be in, having to say 'vote against that guy' rather than 'vote for me'

This strategy worked for George Pataki in 1994. I worked on that campaign, in which the operative phrase to the voters was "ABC" (Anybody But Cuomo).

[thucydides]

The problem for Davis is, once your own negatives are so high, going to a sleazy campaign backfires.