I think all sides in this race acknowledge that no power on earth is going to make Steve Harrison voluntarilly exit from this primary.

I do recall, though, that the last such rumor was spread about Mr. Recchia. As I recall, the rumour was not entirely without foundation (Mr. Recchia had seemingly goen AWOL after his wife had been assaulted), but the rumor was not true. I also recall that among those spreading the rumor was, ahem, Mole333.

Obviously, Mr. Recchia's determination to make this race did not approach Mr. Harrison's, or Mr. Recchia would still be a candidate. I assume that Mr. Recchia, being a practical pol, woke up and smelled the coffee, and that coffee's aroma indicated that once an Islander was in the race, there was no room for two Brooklyn candidates in a primary where 3/4ths of the vote came from Staten Island.

However, Mr. Rechhia obviously was not without some level of determination himself, given that, he was still proclaiming that he was a candidate after Vito Lopez had already announced that Mr. Recchia was not running. Reality is a hard thing to face up to unless one is on a crusade, and unlike Mr. Harrison, Mr. Recchia is no crusader.

Perhaps the best way to combat runors is not to spread them. I myself could never live up to that high standard, but, at the very least, I think it may be better not to print them.

Though I'm not so sure I can live up to that standard myself.