Carl Paladino has had a rough week: instead of spreading his campaign message and scrutinizing Andrew Cuomo, he's been forced to play defense and continuously apologize as friends and enemies alike have labeled him a hypocrite. Campaign manager Michael Caputo, feeling responsible for not vetting last weekend's controversy-stirring speech, offered to resign from the campaign yesterday, according to Buffalo News. Paladino refused his offer. "It's the duty of the campaign manager to fall on his sword. I wouldn't be a very professional person if I didn't admit to my mistake," he said of the speech, earlier this week.
The Daily News adds another salvo to the hypocrisy charges: the fiscal conservative is spending more than twice as much as Cuomo on his staff and aides. According to their analysis, Cuomo has outspent Paladino $8.9 million to $3.8 million in the campaign thus far (most of that on TV ads). Paladino has spent over $800,000 on workers salaries (which includes more than two dozen consultants), while Cuomo has spent just over $300,000 for thsoe expenses. "What's happening is that there's all these consultants in there getting paid enormous sums of money and there's no money for voter contact," said GOP consultant Ed Rollins, who added that most campaigns try to limit employee costs to 10 percent of total spending (Paladino has spent double that number).
But Paladino does have one secret weapon he's not afraid to use: his hugs. Hugging has become a mainstay of Paladino's public appearances; the Times describes it as "a grandfatherly species of full-body bear hug, spine-cracking and uninhibited.” Paladino believes his hugs are the key to his victory: “The vast majority of people in Buffalo know what it’s like to be hugged by Carl, even those who don’t want it. We see it as a contrast to Andrew Cuomo, who is staying as far away from voters as possible," said Caputo.
