It’s been a tumultous couple of weeks, but now that the dust is settling, a few observations and notes.

• Christine Quinn is going to ride this horse as far as it will carry her, which is probably Gifford Miller’s current job, and eventually, Gracie Mansion.

Miller is an awful candidate for mayor, but don’t expect his buddy CQ to cue him in on his shortcomings- she’s got her eyes on Miller’s current job, and Miller is determined to play a sucker, chasing the mayoral rabbit. Quinn is about as adroit, politically, as anyone on the scene. When David Weprin held a hearing to review Cablevision’s ridiculous tax break, Quinn very quietly jumped on board. She stays on the “right” side of all issues. If New York City should happen to win the Olympics, Quinn would be the first one out front, waving pom-poms and flags.

• Speaking of the MSG tax break scam, now that Quinn has, ever so demurely (I wish you could have seen, dear readers, my favorite red head side-step questioning the MSG lawyer when he was under oath, only to toss her name, like a feather in the air, onto the growing list of sponsors of the bill requesting state action against MSG) acted, how far behind can Thom Duane and Dick Gottfried be?

The answer is, not very. After all, what is Cablevision going to do, fire them? Politicians love no risk, grandstanding moves. Also, that ship is sinking, anyway. Too bad they weren’t there at the beginning, considering the fact that Mendacity Square Garden is in their district.

• While the New York Jets underrated Jimmy Dolan’s tenacity, the stadium opponents underrated Jay Cross’s skill and acumen, and overated their own power.

One of the reasons may be that the opposition is still living, to some extent, in a city that no longer exists. A constant refrain regarding the West Side opposition from the wise guys over the past year was, “They can stop anything. Remember Westway.” But the circumstances behind Westway were quite different- for one thing, the West Side Stadium is going to be built by a private enterprise with public assistance, as opposed to a fully state –funded project. Sure, the city and state are going to pony up hundreds of millions of dollars, but it is a private developer that is assuming most of the cost and the risk, and is driving this engine forward. It is much easier for a privately held company to navigate the treacherous waters of New York politics than it is for a state agency, which is much more likely to veer off course when the going gets tough.

But, more importantly, as I indicated, the world has changed. The New York City Council, thanks mainly to term limits, is no longer run by a small group of people. Deal making is much tougher these days. The West-Siders who beat back Westway (I was one of them, I have no idea what was going through my mind back then except for the impetuousness of youth) didn’t have to deal with the mosaic of power that is New York City, today.

• There are two battles left: the state legislative leaders Silver and Bruno, and in the courts.

Both will produce surprises for both sides, but the Jets will prevail. Speaking of the courts: Just as it rankles the MSG-led opposition to the project that the minority community did not fall in in lockstep behind them, the presence of David Boise must drive them nuts, Boise, who carried their mantle in Gore Vs. Bush, now picks up the Jets banner, and leads the Jets forward. I’ll put my money on Boise, again.

• You'd think that the ex-deputy mayor of America's 116th largest city and current author of a certain web site bent on destroying New York's Olympic bid would be a tad more humble these days.

You'd be wrong. Consider this: a little more than a week ago, a certain web site was proclaiming the Jets bid to the MTA dead on arrival, RIP, etc. Jeepers, let's just gloss over that one!

But if you want to see how thin-skinned the ex-deputy mayor of America's 116th largest city is, consider the George Vecsey column of April 3. In it, Vecsey slams the notion that Shea Stadium is suitable for the Olympics, or anything else, for that matter, saying "...let's get one thing straight: anybody saying Shea Stadium could be converted into an Olympic/football/soccer stadium has obviously never been inside Shea, which was a dump in April 1964 and remains a dump today.". But, you wouldn't know it from reading a certain web site, unless you log on to the Times site to read the actual column. The former mayor of America's 116th largest city prints five paragraphs from the column, but ommits the one that undercuts his position. Could it be because the cornerstone of his web site is the dopey notion that Shea has any kind of future in this city other than that of a date with the wrecking ball?

When we are wrong, we admit it. It can be a tough course to follow, but it makes life easier, in the end.