On last night’s program, Harlem Children Zone's President Geoffrey Canada said he is so angry with the hip-hop community that he won't take a donation from them. Watch the video above.

Tonight’s guests include: Rep. Carolyn Maloney; Our political rundown with Gerson Borrero and Curtis Sliwa.

Danny Hakim looks at how Mario Cuomo still has no portrait hanging in the State Capitol’s Hall of Governors.

Helene Cooper looks at Hillary Clinton’s resume going into her new job as Secretary of State, while Ethan Bronner takes the pulse of the foreign diplomatic community about Clinton’s appointment.

Baker & Urbina report from Philadelphia: “With the economic crisis tearing holes in most state budgets, President-elect Barack Obama promised the nation’s governors on Tuesday that he would come to their aid with an ambitious program to build or repair roads, bridges, schools and other public projects.”

Fernandez & Bagli report: “A dispute inside the Bloomberg administration pitting the city’s housing agency against the mayor’s budget office has delayed the building of hundreds of homes for low- and moderate-income New Yorkers in economically struggling neighborhoods, city officials, developers and advocates of such housing say.”

R.I.P. Ramon Velez and Joseph Margiotta.

New York Post

Sally Goldenberg reports: “Aides to Mayor Bloomberg have told City Council members that City Hall is ready to send out long-delayed property-tax rebate checks this month in time for the holiday shopping season, sources told The Post last night. Sources said the mayor wants to avoid a Dec. 11 court appearance on the issue of his refusal to send out the $400 checks and wants to settle the matter before the council meets next Tuesday.”

Retter & Seifman write: “Rep. Charles Rangel said yesterday that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has promised him he will keep his chairmanship of the Ways and Means Committee as long as he wants - even though investigators haven't completed their report on ethical allegations facing the Harlem Democrat.”

Seifman also reports: “The Board of Elections' failure to process more than 3,500 new-voter registration forms for two months is 'more than alarming,' City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said yesterday as she demanded an explanation from election officials.”

Dicker & Scott write: “Secretary of State-designate Hillary Rodham Clinton, aided by hubby Bill, moved swiftly yesterday to cash in on her future power position to help retire the $7 million debt from her failed presidential campaign. A new fund-raising request, e-mailed by her campaign committee, calls attention to the ‘exciting news’ of her nomination.”

The edit-heads note: “Tom Suozzi's blue-ribbon tax-reform panel this week released its final recommendations for combating New York state's sky-high local property taxes. Here's hoping Suozzi & Co. have better luck this time around.”

And the edit-heads also write: “Mayor Bloomberg has an interesting way of rewarding Comptroller William Thompson for finding extra cash that's owed to the city: He lets him keep it.”

In a guest op-ed column, Kellerman & Brecher preview the release of the Ravitch Commission report on the MTA.

New York Daily News

Erin Einhorn reports: “Several City Council hopefuls filed suit Tuesday to level the financial playing field they said was left lopsided when term limits were extended from two to three. At issue is a Campaign Finance Board decision which lets Council members keep any money they raised to run for a higher office - as long as they don't use it to run for reelection next year.”

Blain & Lovett write: “Gov. Paterson needs to get tough and force his department heads to make the cuts he demanded, Republican lawmakers said Tuesday. Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco said it's wrong for Paterson to scold lawmakers for not cutting when some of his own agencies ignored his order to slice 10.3% from their budgets.”

Lisa Colangelo notes: “Lawyers who work at city agencies are close to signing a new contract, and it mirrors the agreement waiting to be ratified by members of District Council 37.”

Op-ed columnist Michael Goodwin writes: “The governor needs to put someone in the Senate who puts New York first. Someone who understands that, no matter the reasonable-sounding ideas behind new federal programs, New Yorkers can no longer afford to be America's sugar daddy.”

New York Observer

Azi previews a potential showdown between City Councilmen Bill de Blasio and Eric Gioia in the race for public advocate.

Village Voice

Tom Robbins takes a close look at some of the actors in Rudy Giuliani’s final performance on his annual skit for The Inner Circle.

Until tomorrow.


Bob Hardt

To drop us a line, write to political_itch@ny1.com.