NY1 News is reporting that Harold Ford has bumped back his candiacy announcement deadline regarding his possible challenge to incumbent Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Ford was expected to make an announcement Sunday, he now says it will come late next week.
A Ford spokesperson said,
"Ford doesn't want to discuss his political future amidst the distractions over Governor Paterson's troubles."
I don't know, considering the kind of headlines Ford's been getting, a nice juicy scandal about another pol is just the ticket.
Also breaking is a New York Times story offering insight into Ford's compensation at Merill Lynch. Citing two anonymous sources with direct knowledge, it claims his 2007 contract guaranteed him at least $2,000,000 and with bonuses could well have exceeded that.
Of interesting note, the article claims Ford's base pay was twice that of his superior who hired him, E. Stanley O'Neal. O'Neal's 2006 compensation included a $18.5 million cash bonus and $27 million in stock options. It's possible Ford's much higher guaranteed salary is an indication that he will not receive similar bonuses. Ford has tried to keep issue of his compensation out of news, but has said he'll disclose if or when he becomes a candidate.
Obviously, people making gargantuan loads of money on Wall Street are not America's favorite people, right now. Two million dollars is a lot of money. Is it fatal? I'm not convinced, who isn't rich in politics? Mike Bloomberg's a billionaire. Were Ford not so lacking elsewhere, it wouldn't resonate is my guess. If his bonuses turn out to be in the tens of millions, I might revise that.
Regarding the deadline pushback, though, clearly no one's been able to make Helicopter Harold see the light. I would imagine someone with a little common sense must be whispering in his ear, "Really Harold, it ain't gonna happen, you're just gonna embarrass yourself." And he's managed to bargain for another week. But to what end? The more New York sees of Harold they better they like their incumbent. (We have polls.)
But I guess he thinks he's still in the game. I say this because, were he planning tomorrow to announce dropping out, Paterson hogging the news cycle is just the distraction you'd want to muffle the sound your failed candidacy makes as it hits the floor with a resounding thud. A quiet bow-out is really best, yes? Let the people come up for air after the Paterson debacle blows over and say, "Whatever happened to that helicopter dude?"
Or, now this is just my speculation, but is it silliness to think Harold sees an opening in Governor's mansion? Every job has just been a stepping stone for Ford. In Tennessee his conservative voting record was actually pretty out of step with his solidly blue district, and got more conservative as it was clear he had his eye on the Senate, where he couldn't compete statewide as anything other than a conservative.
With an eye toward Presidential ambitions will Edsel now set his sights on acquiring a little executive experience? Will he spin his listening tour into a quintessential I ♥ NY story? He just got so bewitched by the Empire state he couldn't bear the thought of leaving it for DC and decided to run for Governor?
Silly of course, but then again, so's nearly everything about his campaign thus far, so why not try? He's clearly not going to be the Democratic nominee for the Senate. Does he think he can make a splash by beating Andrew Cuomo to the announcement?
And of course, Harold has no more chance at shoving aside heir apparent Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo, than he does Gillibrand (less?). But if he's shown New Yorkers anything, it's that he's got hubris.