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National Democratic primary has an NYC flavor

BY DAN JANISON | dan.janison@newsday.com

April 28, 2008

Call them parochial, but some of the region's big-name Democratic pros are struck by the similarity between their party's ongoing presidential drama and your classic su- percharged New York primary.

"It's very much like a New York Democratic primary," says city consultant Henry Shein- kopf. "The thrills, the spills, the ups and the downs, the obsession with minutiae. The comparisons from reporters, in which even the slightest language change creates a news story. And the obsession of reporters and candidates with ethnic groupings and racial activity.

"This one's got everything!"

Fernando Ferrer, who ran for New York City mayor in 2001 and 2005, says, "I feel like I've seen this movie." What he says saddens him is "the silly obsessing around the smallest and most insignificant of details."

His campaign three years ago even saw a molehill get front-page treatment - that his Web site erred on where he had attended school. So the former Bronx borough president says he was especially irritated when Sen. Barack Obama was challenged in a debate over ditching his flag pin - by a moderator who didn't wear one either.

Mark Green, a 2001 mayoral nominee, finds a "superficial similarity, but ultimately a difference." He sees "two credible progressive Democrats, one of whom happens to be white and one who happens to be minority." But he predicts the second-place finisher will solidly back the winner against Republican Sen. John McCain.

Fran Reiter, a onetime Liberal Party leader and a Hillary Clinton backer, says in a New York primary "we're our own worst enemies. .. . In the old days, with more machine-type politics, you avoided these situations because the party leaders basically made these decisions for you."

Just like this year's national contest, some New York races "seem like an endless campaign," adds Queens consultant Evan Stavisky.

Jeff Pollock, a Democratic consultant, says "there's no doubt the tone is harshening" in the national contest. "Race was always going to be part of this debate. But we're not even close to a New York-style bruise just yet - which is good."

CAPITOL MARKET: With about 80 of 300 unpledged superdelegates serving in Congress, a preconvention of sorts is under way under the Dome. On the Clinton team, Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington) reportedly helped persuade Rep. Tim Ryan (D- Ohio) to join up - after Clinton's overwhelming win last month in Ryan's district. These decisions tend to be intensely local.

ELITE ENCLAVE: Famous now for its stern law against renting to illegal immigrants, Hazleton, Pa., keeps making political news. Lou Barletta, GOP mayor, is running for Congress; Amber Lee Ettinger, the video world's "Obama girl," voted there in last week's primary; and maverick Alan Keyes announced there that he's leaving the Republican Party.