The Big “Mo”

The New York Times reports that “in the wake of the final debate in the mayoral contest, leading Democratic supporters of Fernando Ferrer have become increasingly resigned to the prospect of another victory for Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on Election Day”, giving candidate Ferrer a nice, big boost in today’s news cycle:

But even as many Democrats say that Mr. Ferrer turned in solid, perhaps winning, debate performances, some of his staunchest supporters are openly losing faith that he will win on Nov. 8, assessing his chances with words like “miracle” and “hope.”

“If you look at the polls, you’d have to say, the mayor is likely to win,” said Geraldine Ferraro, a former Democratic congresswoman from Queens and the party’s vice presidential nominee in 1984. “I don’t believe in polls, but a lot of Democrats are saying, ‘It’s over.’ I know Freddy is not saying that, and I’m not saying that. You just have to hold out hope.”

Lewis A. Fidler, a city councilman who said his loyalists were working the streets every day, dropping off campaign brochures for Mr. Ferrer throughout his southeast Brooklyn district, echoed that sentiment.

“I’d be a moron to tell you I was confident,” he said. “I’m a Met fan and I’ve been a Met fan since 1962, so I am not adverse to being the underdog, and I always believe in miracles because I’ve lived through them.”

. . .

No Democrat interviewed yesterday would predict a Ferrer upset victory, and several, most of whom would speak only on the condition of anonymity, were calling the campaign all but lost.

“Mike Bloomberg is winning my district, and I suspect, short of something unexpected, my district isn’t the only one voting for the mayor,” said State Senator Liz Krueger, a Democrat who represents the East Side. “The truth is, I don’t know any Democrat who would say to you that they expect a change in administration on Nov. 8.”

With supporters like these . . .

Though I do have to say, things that make you go “hmmm” include but are not limited to the Times to writing a story like this six days out and with paragraphs like this without attribution:

Those who did express even a glimmer of optimism, tellingly, did so not because of Mr. Ferrer himself, who has been regarded as a decent man but a lackluster candidate. Rather, some Democrats cited the possibility that party loyalists would turn out in surprisingly large numbers for their nominee while Bloomberg supporters would wind up not voting on the assumption that victory was certain. [Emphasis obviously added!]

I kind of feel sorry for the man . . . except that I hate it when politicians fib before they’re even in office! So perhaps it’s his own fault.