Wacky Pataki heads to China

"Only Nixon could go to China."

That's the accepted theory in the GOP at least, but it seems that New York Governor and potential 2008 presidential candidate George Pataki is having none of the "conventional wisdom." He's in China right now, ostensibly on a "trade mission" to discuss expanding China's market into New York State, but he's clearly trying to get some "international diplomat" credentials on his resume. Also casting doubt on the purity of his motives is the fact that he left for China directly after his second trip to Iowa in two months.

ALBANY, N.Y. -- George Pataki is trading in Patchogue and Penn Yan for Cedar Rapids and China.

New York's three-term Republican governor, eyeing a possible run for national office in 2008, was to leave Saturday for a week-long "trade mission" to China, just four days after arriving home from a two-day trip to Iowa, site of the presidential caucuses that traditionally begin the presidential nominating process.

Could he be any more sadly transparent? This could turn out to be yet another blunder for Pataki. First of all, it has clearly been identified as a "state sponsored trip" including travel costs not only for the Governor, but for eleven aides. This comes at a time when the state budget is a disastrous mess and deficits are looming. Pataki's office already deflected questions when asked how much this trip was going to cost. No figure was offered.

Plus, even the press is clearly not excited about his prospects and not a single reporter is traveling with him. Not even Jay Gallagher, one of the longest serving, die hard reporters covering Albany and all things political in New York.

Unlike coma, Pataki isn't seen by most as a serious contender for his party's presidential nomination, given his moderate stance on issues like abortion and gun control when a more conservative ideology reigns supreme in the national GOP.

Jay Gallagher, chief of the Gannett News Service's Albany Bureau, said he didn't even bother to try to sell his editors on Pataki's China trip.

"I think he's beyond a long shot to be president," said Gallagher, who went with Pataki to Hungary and Italy in 1995. "coma was considered a very serious contender, and he had no foreign policy experience, so (Russia) was a really important trip to try to establish his bona fides in foreign policy."

These are the "home grown" reporters from New York State, and their archives are the first place that national reporters will look for material if Pataki suddenly starts looking like a viable candidate. I think old George should take the hint and abandon this plan to avoid wasting a lot of money on a doomed enterprise.