Phil Reisman: Teachout, Astorino to tag team the absent incumbent

Believe it or not there will be a debate in the governor's race Thursday. Whether or not a substantial number of people will actually listen to it is, well, debatable.

For starters, Gov. Andrew Cuomo won't participate, which means that the debate will feature only Republican Rob Astorino and Democratic primary challenger Zephyr Teachout — two underdog candidates who sit at opposite ends of the political spectrum and who are unlikely to meet each other in the Nov. 4 general election. This begs the question: What's the point?

Second, the debate is not scheduled for prime time. It's going to be from 10:50 to 11:30 a.m., when most voters are at work.

And third, Astorino and Teachout will be debating on the radio, and though it's going to be moderated by the excellent Brian Lehrer of WNYC-FM, it's still radio. That means Astorino and Teachout will be heard but not seen and that is hardly a good thing for candidates who, despite their best efforts, remain virtually invisible in the minds of many voters. They won't even have the visual joke of using a cardboard stand-in for Cuomo.

Of course, Astorino and Teachout won't be squaring off against each other as much as they will be attacking the absent Cuomo from the left and right. They are both against Common Core, but their "common chore," as I call it, is to chip away at the incumbent's commanding lead in the polls.

For the liberal Teachout, a professor at Fordham University, the hope is to gain ground in advance of the Sept. 9 Democratic primary. Despite her long-shot status, she's been a thorn in Cuomo's side and has picked up a number of high-profile endorsements, the latest coming from anti-fracking actor Mark Ruffalo. Anything she does to weaken Cuomo going into the November election is a boost for the conservative Astorino.

So what's the point? Simply put, both candidates are underfunded and outgunned and need all the exposure they can get.

With tongue firmly in cheek, I asked Astorino's campaign spokesman Bill O'Reilly if there was an "over-under" on how many times the words "Moreland Commission" would come up during the radio debate.

In an email, he flatly replied, "71."

Cuomo's critics says he won't debate because he is thin-skinned and a notorious control freak who feels he has nothing to gain by elevating his opponents. The theory is that he is so far ahead in the polls and so awash in cash that he can afford to play the political equivalent of "prevent defense," which may be frustrating and boring to watch, but ultimately a winning strategy.

In a race that has been notable for its creative name-calling, GOP operatives have termed Cuomo the "Cowardly Cuomo" because of his refusal to engage with the candidates.

Setting bravery, or the lack of it, aside, Cuomo has lately shown a tendency to embrace a head-scratching form of logic, worthy of a banana republic. He told The New York Times this week that debates can sometimes be "a disservice to democracy." This was eerily reminiscent of his nutty defense against allegations that he interfered with the anti-corruption Moreland Commission. In essence, he said the commission was his creation and by God he could do whatever he wanted with it.

The U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara is looking into Moreland, a mess that doesn't promise to go away soon.

Indeed, O'Reilly told me that during the debate, Astorino will assert that defense attorneys are advising Cuomo not to take part because anything he says Moreland-wise can and will be used against him by the ever-vigilant Bharara. At the same time, Astorino may point out that while leading in the polls during his 2013 re-election campaign for Westchester County executive, he had five debates with Democratic challenger Noam Bramson.

Mike Boland, Teachout's campaign manager, said he thought the governor simply doesn't like debates and it's costing him primary votes.

"He doesn't like to answer questions, whether it's to the press or whether it's to challengers," Boland said. "Yeah, not all debates are created equal, but they serve a real function in the electoral process."

Boland said the debate will raise Teachout's profile and allow her to map out her vision for New York's future: "It will help introduce her to voters who can begin imagining her as an actual governor."

Right now she's allied with Astorino in the common chore — and who would ever have imagined that?

Reach Phil Reisman at preisman@lohud.com

Twitter: @philreisman