Were It Not For 9/11, Mark Green Might Not Have Sucked So Much

A sudden flash of self-awareness for Mark Green:

At a small bar in Lower Manhattan, Mark Green stepped to the microphone before a few dozen supporters shortly after 10:30 p.m.

“As Deni has often remarked privately, and occasionally publicly, I am not a very good politician,” Mr. Green said, standing next to his wife, Deni Frand, and son and daughter. He proceeded to concede the race for the Democratic nomination for attorney general to Andrew Cuomo, a former federal housing secretary and the son of a three-term governor.

. . .

Things could have turned out differently for Mr. Green. Many expected him to defeat then-political novice Michael Bloomberg for mayor in 2001, but the terrorist attacks of September 11 shifted the dynamic of the race, and a late endorsement by the hugely popular Mayor Giuliani threw the election to Mr. Bloomberg.

“If 9/11 didn’t happen, he might well have become the mayor of New York,” the president of Brooklyn, Marty Markowitz, a Green supporter, said.

There was of course that small issue of Green being a lousy politician, but it’s important never to forget . . .