GIVE THE GIRL A BREAK! – AT 8:11 A.M. ET:  It's heartbreaking, and will probably become a TV movie.  Just a few days after Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand turned red when Harry Reid described her as the hottest U.S. senator, she's dissed again in a new New York poll stunner:

SurveyUSA shows New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand leading Congressman Joe DioGuardi by a single point, 45 percent to 44 percent, while Quinnipiac shows Gillibrand with a 48 to 42 point lead. According to SurveyUSA, Gillibrand leads in NYC 54 percent to 35 percent, but is losing upstate and, more importantly, the New York suburbs.

New York is a really bright red state, and the fact that former GOP Congressman Joe DioGuardi is that close is remarkable.  Maybe there is a revolt brewing.

One of Gillibrand's problems is that she could walk down a street in New York, and no one would know who she is.  She was appointed to fill Hillary Clinton's seat, but she doesn't have Clinton's political savvy.

DioGuardi is about as beautiful to the eye as Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey.  Neither has been invited to appear on "Dancing With the Stars."  But he comes off in TV ads as a practical, sharpened-pencil guy, a trained CPA, and this may be the year in which that has appeal. 

This poll comes a day after another poll had GOP gubernatorial nominee Carl Paladino only six points behind Dem stalwart Andy Cuomo. 

Is New York seriously in play?  It appears that way, but we'll be alert for future polls.

September 23, 2010