The news of the day is that New York's Governor has been caught up in a sex scandal, the kind of sex scandal that we can't get enough of. Eliot Spitzer was a tough prosecutor who ran for governor as a reformer. Who knew that he was transporting a prostitute across state lines?

What intrigues me is that an unknown Lt. Governor is about to be annointed Governor once Spitzer resigns. I follow state government in New York, yet I know nothing about this replacement, David Paterson, except that he's a black man who is also legally blind. His life will change forever today.

The last time a Lt. Governor became governor was in the mid-1970's, when Nelson Rockefeller was named U.S. Vice President to replace Gerald Ford who became President when Richard Nixon resigned. The lucky duck in that instance was Malcolm Wilson, who served as Governor for two years. Today, the Tappan Zee Bridge in Westchester County is named after him. As I cross that bridge on a regular basis, I always look at the sign memorializing Malcolm Wilson. And I know that, every day, thousands of New York motorists ask themselves, "Who the &$%& is Malcolm Wilson?"

David Paterson is the Ringo Starr of New York politics. Yes, in some far-flung state like Nebraska or Idaho, the Lt. Governor can become Governor in circumstances like this, but who cares? This is New York! Every New York Governor becomes a media celebrity and a possible candidate for President. I'm sure that some of the bands in Liverpool changed drummers, but on the brink of superstardom, the Beatles gave that opportunity to Ringo, who in replacing Pete Best went from a lifetime of obscurity to the most recognizable drummer in rock history.

David Paterson may be a nice guy, but he's no Ringo. Maybe Paterson will reach the heights of greatness. Ringo did. In the early 1970's, after the Beatles broke-up, Ringo sang maybe the most beautiful of all Beatles solo songs, Photograph, co-written with George Harrison. The melody is all George, hooks and all. The lyrics are all Ringo, simple and direct. Ringo sings, and in its own way, his voice is beautiful. Without his last minute jump to the Beatles, Ringo may have lived his life in obscurity, teaching math at Liverpool High School.