Carl P. Paladino may not have yet collected enough money to saturate the airwaves with campaign ads, but he has become a major presence on news and talk shows over the past day.
The Republican gubernatorial candidate appeared on NBC's "Today" show this morning after Monday night visits with Fox hosts Neil Cavuto and Bill O'Reilly and then to liberal Alan Colmes' radio show.
In each of his appearances, Paladino attempted to concentrate on the "issues," no matter how many questions he faced from the media hosts on his acknowledged marital infidelity, last week's faceoff with a New York Post reporter, and his controversial e-mails.
He also discussed the "anger" that has characterized an election upon which he has tagged a "mad as hell" campaign slogan.
"I don't think it's frustration," he told Matt Lauer on the set of the "Today" show. "It's the people who are frustrated, and I'm just a reflection of that frustration."
He also said the "baseball bat" he continually threatens to take to Albany is another metaphor for the frustration he feels.
"My baseball bat is the people," he said. "That's the reason we had such a huge plurality in the Republican primary."
Paladino on NBC's "Today" show:
Paladino defeated former Rep. Rick A. Lazio by a 63 to 37 percent tally in the Sept. 14 primary. While Lauer noted that Lazio will not endorse him, Paladino continued to turn his attention to Democratic rival Andrew M. Cuomo, his failure so far to agree to debates, and to his opposition to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
"I'll bring my own sandbox [to Albany]," he said, referring to his plan to end the Capitol's "three men in a room" system of government.
O'Reilly spent much of his segment with Paladino discussing last week's shouting match between the candidate and Post reporter Frederic U. Dicker in Bolton Landing, while Cavuto asked his fellow alumnus of St. Bonaventure University about his tax reduction plans.
--Robert J. McCarthy
Paladino on Fox News' "The O'Reilly Factor":
Paladino on Alan Colmes' "Liberaland" radio show:
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