GOP gubernatorial hopeful William Weld is leading the pack in quips and sound bites against his opponents, and today was no exception during his speech at the National Federation of Independent Businesses Small Business Day 2006 in Albany:

Attorney General Spitzer, like Michael Dukakis, my predecessor in Massachusetts, puts his faith in complex government schemes. He wants to play the role of financier and fund companies; he wants to play the role of scientist and conduct research and development; he wants to play the role of innovator and take ownership of patents created in this state. He even wants to play the role of real estate developer and redevelop urban areas.

To be honest, this is scary stuff—Mr. Spitzer thinks he’s JP Morgan, Tom Watson, George Eastman, Robert Moses, the Green Lantern and Thomas Edison all wrapped in one. He’s not, and neither is the New York State government

Weld even referred to Spitzer's running mate, state Senate Minority Leader David Paterson, as "a proven tax hiker."

The headline from Weld's remarks will likely come from this: "First, we should eliminate the personal income tax on the first $75,000 of income. This is something that will make New York attractive for small businesses and for skilled workers." However, the speech itself provided no specifics as to how that would fit into state budget planning, and whether it would create revenue or subtract revenue from the state coffers.

And, to throw in one last dig at Spitzer, he added, "Despite the gains made over the past decade, there is a great deal of work to do. The job will not be completed if our Upstate work force is derided as Appalachian hillbillies."

You can read the full text of his speech here.