Mid-Morning Read: Clinton, Massa, Paterson

According to New York, Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin’s candidacies may have reinforced unhelpful stereotypes about women.

Liz Benjamin says that if Clinton takes the secretary of state post, Nydia Velazquez is, "for now," the front runner to replace her in the Senate.

Nassau County has a $100,000 contract with Zimmerman-Edelman, a major public relations firm.

There’s one new David Paterson appointmen; another remains elusive.

Although he hasn't declared victory, Eric Massa is participating in congressional orientation.

Jay Gallagher points out that there are six different state budget offices crunching numbers.

Jose Serrano introduced a bill to keep immigration status confidential when New Yorkers report crimes to the state police.

Fred Dicker says Paterson would be OK with having a Republican as State Senate majority leader, as long as it’s not Dean Skelos. [2nd item]

Sheldon Silver wants to bring back the commuter tax.

Michael Bloomberg may take on salt.

State Senate Republicans say they can’t act without bills.

Southern Tier lawmakers brace for a tax shift.

In Binghamton today, the public will have a chance to hear about and comment on the impact on the water supply of a possible natural-gas drilling boom in the region.

And, now that he’s not ruling out another run for president, or governor, here’s a slightly edited version of Rudy Giuliani’s speech at the R.N.C.