George Pataki endorsed conservative Doug Hoffman last night. This is significant. The former New York governor is a moderate and part of the New York establishment. He won by big margins in the 23rd District when he ran for governor.

A friend notes also that Pataki waited until after Hoffman performed well during last night's debate with Owens and Scozzafava to make the endorsement. Pataki was probably motivated more by political calculation than by principle in his endorsement. He knows Hoffman can win and Scozzafava can't.