Wow, A New Definition Of Chutzpah Emerges

Four borough presidents — vitally vestigial! — actually showed up to support the term limit extension:

If you want self-interest, consider that 29-to-22 Council vote. Of the 51 lawmakers, 35 would have been forced out of office at the end of next year. Nearly two-thirds of them, 23 of 35, voted to reward themselves with a possible extra term. Of those who do not have a 2009 expiration date, 63 percent — 10 of 16 members — voted against the change. Funny how that worked.

Of course, to hear lawmakers talk on Monday, self-interest had nothing to do with it. It was all about government continuity during a crisis. Times are so hard, you see, that New York cannot survive without the foresight, the high-mindedness and the command of municipal finances that this batch of council members provides. Besides, if New Yorkers feel differently, they can always vote them all out of office next November.

“This is democracy at its best,” said Councilman Kendall Stewart of Brooklyn.

That’s how the borough presidents saw it as well — four of the five who showed up, anyway. “We need all the experience we can count on to get us through this crisis,” said Helen M. Marshall, who represents Queens.

Got it. Without these borough presidents hanging on beyond next year, New York might not make it.