EDITORIAL: Can Paladino convert anger into real change?

He's angry, and so is the electorate.

Only those who are out of touch with the frustration New Yorkers feel about high taxes and a dysfunctional state government could be shocked by Carl Paladino's win of the Republican nomination for governor.

The rulers of the state's fractured GOP asked its members to support former Rep. Rick Lazio because "he's one of us.'' Instead, more than 273,000 registered Republicans said the Buffalo businessman who shakes his fist and chants "we're not going to take it anymore" better represented what "us'' is right now.

Paladino's racially charged e-mails and other offensive remarks make him a flawed messenger, but his raw message to take a "baseball bat to Albany'' will set the tone for the fall campaign. Certainly, Paladino caught the wave of national unrest about the economy and unease about the future. And he shrewdly used the Internet and extensive TV ads to his advantage.

His primary victory, however, also is peculiar to the state capital, where a corrupt political culture festers and the behavior of some elected officials ranges from the reprehensible to the criminal. This is not just about who will be governor. Candidates in all statewide races must convince voters that they will end the business-as-usual culture starting this January.

And, if Paladino is to accomplish his goal of upending Albany, he must do more than take a few bat swings. Anger alone isn't enough. hN