With yesterday's choice of a new comptroller, the New York State Legislature failed to select the best candidate for the job.

The new comptroller has put new life into it by his example, being always freshly attired and chiefly in white.

As a starting point, the new comptroller should not be an Albany insider.

The new comptroller will play an enormous but largely unseen role in safeguarding the state's finances for the next four years.

The new comptroller will single-handedly be responsible for investing $146 billion in state pension money.

In almost every quarter, legislators or lobbyists are buzzing about the budget, about ethics reforms, about the election of a new comptroller.

"It's a recipe for bankruptcy," said Nassau's new comptroller, Howard Weitzman.

The new comptroller became acting president, and then was succeeded by Mr. Hart, a longtime Drake consultant.

Alan G. Hevesi, the new comptroller, said he did not think that the state's finances could be balanced this year without some form of borrowing.

The governor and the new comptroller he has branded as "unqualified" continued their rapprochement last week, meeting one evening in Albany.