It was near the end of our editorial board meeting with Sen. Chuck Schumer yesterday.

We had hit on a variety of topics -- perhaps not as many as normal for a 75-minute session, but the senator tends to be wordy.

Just as we were wrapping up, I asked Schumer if he had any comments on state government, in particular the way the governor had come into Albany with a mandate to produce change and subsequently ran into all sort of problems, many of his own doing.

Schumer asked if we could go "off the record." I told him we didn't do "off the record" at our editorial board meetings. He agreed and then offered a brief, non-specific reply.

Three hours later, news of the governor's involvement with a prostitution ring sent shockwaves through the state and the nation.

Was Schumer going to give us a tip, "off the record." We'll never know.