Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch?

The rumors are flying fast and furious this afternoon. Now that it has been pretty-much confirmed that Paterson will appoint a Lieutenant Governor in a few minutes from now, the question of course is...who will that person be? The goal one would hope is that he or she is non-controversial and well-respected. Yet in these times, I don't even think Jesus or Gandhi could fit that criteria for all sides involved. So certainly Richard Ravitch will fall short for Democrats and Republicans.

From The Daily Politics:

Ravitch is the ultimate elder statesman. He has worked for a president (Lyndon Johnson), a governor (Hugh Carey), and is credited with rescuing the mass transit system in the 1980s.

Last year, Paterson tapped Ravitch to head a panel to figure out how to fix the cash-strapped MTA - again.

He also has ample experience in dealing with the unruly Senate - most recently this past year during the MTA bailout negotiations, which did not endear him to the Senate Democrats, who felt he misled them about needing $5 tolls on the East River bridges in order to close the authority's gaping budget hole.

Ravitch later said an Assembly plan that called for $2 tolls would also work. The final agreement ended up with no tolls at all.

UPDATE: The DN's Glenn Blain ran into Sen. Dean Skelos and asked for his reaction to the news about Ravitch. The Long Island Republican replied:

"Payroll tax Ravitch? Well, then he would fit the mold...of Gov. David Paterson because they both love to raise taxes."

No one is going to be happy here, but something has got to give and having Ravitch break ties (assuming the Senate achieves a quorum) is a far better thing to worry about than Espada being #2 to Paterson. As long as the courts approve, Paterson can breathe easier if he decides to leave the state with the second in command.