A NIGHT OF UNEASY SLEEP

last night i had the strangest dream.

i dreamed that former senate majority leader joe bruno was acquitted by a jury of his peers. then i dreamed i saw an old politician type with a cigar in his mouth saying, "hey, the feds got what they wanted. he's out of there isn't he?" i woke up with a start and said, "holy moley, we all know how disgusting albany can be and we certainly don't admire joe bruno for influence peddling, but don't you have to prove something is illegal? where will this stop?"

then i went back to sleep and i dreamed i was riding on a train and gov. david paterson called me up to thank me for a column i wrote. the state bureaucrat who was sitting next to me choked when he realized who i was talking to. i asked the governor how he was doing despite his bad polls, and paterson told me that he had a talk with his father, basil paterson.

the father asked his son whether he would still like to be senate minority leader. said the son, in my dream, "i told him no." then, paterson told me, his father asked him whether he would like to be lieutenant governor again-and again he got a "no." "so then," said the governor, "my father asked me whether i was glad i had the job i have and i told him, 'yes.'"

after that, the governor went on to tell me how much he liked pete seeger and his song, "waist deep in the big muddy." then i woke up and said to myself, "that was a really nice dream. i really like david paterson."

now my dream turned really somber. i dreamed that new york was having a gubernatorial election and the candidates were andrew cuomo and rudy giuliani. i thought about both guys; and with a trembling hand, after considering the alternatives, voted for andrew. and then there was andrew in my dream saying, "you did good, alan. remember that when i was in the clinton cabinet as head of hud, i was 13th in line to be president of the united states." i woke up bathed in sweat.

then i had my last dream. chuck schumer was standing next to the new 20th district congressman, scott murphy, who was standing next to the accidental senator, kirsten gillibrand. schumer was hypnotizing murphy and gillibrand and then, extending his hand, put a curse on them and turned them into ken and barbie dolls. i woke up and didn't know what to make of the whole thing. glad i was only dreaming. -- alan s. chartock is president and ceo of wamc/northeast public radio and an executive publisher at the legislative gazette.