Lame ducks in Albany & Washington

In Washington, it’s all about kicking the can of the economy down the road. Bailouts for the big automakers seem to be stalled, possibly dead, until the new Congress and the new President take office.

In Albany, the outgoing Senate Republican leadership says No to Governor Paterson’s budget cuts, which leaves Paterson in the position of being the biggest budget hawk in New York.

The bottom line? The Democrats will have to sort this out…and the Republicans get to play the role of critic.

The stakes are high. If the Dems come back next year and put the pieces back together, they’ll be the grown-ups, the ones who could get things done.

But Obama and Paterson will also be holding the bag (and a very smelly, overstuffed bag it is) if things crater.