Local Republicans are wondering if maybe their all-Hevesi-all-the-time approach toward the '06 election might be a bit of a distraction from the greater congressional struggle. Then again, maybe they should swipe at whatever low-hanging fruit this mean season bears, namely incumbent state comptroller Alan Hevesi.

Hevesi broke from his recent low-profile M.O. on Monday to make an appearance at Cornell University. There, he spoke to an entrepreneurship class about the corporate scandals of the nineties and offered a few non-answers on his wife-ferrying woes.

"You're drawing conclusions without knowing the facts," Hevesi told the Cornell Daily Sun. "I'm not going to discuss them with the public until I've finished a report through the Ethics Commission that I requested.

"Don't believe everything you hear. That's my quote."

John Callaghan, son of Hevesi's opponent Chris Callaghan, serves as the challenger's spokesman and was predictably hard on his old man's rival and, somewhat less predictably, pretty tough on his own mother.

"My mom wasn't able to walk for most of last summer," he said. "[Hevesi] reached for the easy button."

It seems to be a trait among the Callaghan men to not go soft on Callaghan women, but when you're going around implying even ailing Mama C isn't above your stringent ethical standard, that's cold. Real cold.

Just imagine what kind of badass Chris Callaghan's going to be when it comes time to restructure the state's pension system.

Hevesi Defends Service Record [Cornell Daily Sun]