For a week now, the story of the state’s comptroller, H. Carl McCall, the Democratic candidate for governor, making use of official letterhead to seek jobs for friends and family has made waves in the New York press. While it is too early to tell if the story, broken by the New York Post last Friday, will significantly hurt Mr. McCall’s chances for the governorship, we are beginning to think the entire hubbub has been much sound and fury, signifying little. Contacted by our William F. Hammond Jr., as we report at page one of today’s New York Sun, the state’s highest ranking Republican legislator declined to criticize Mr. McCall’s actions. When the Republican majority leader of the state’s senate, Joseph Bruno, is unwilling to so much as graze the opposition party’s gubernatorial candidate, it is worth considering why.

Part of the reason would seem to be that Mr. Bruno and other prominent Republicans could have letters of their own that could find their way before the public eye. No one wants to be caught a hypocrite. Still, the fact that the practice of writing job recommendations on official letterhead might be common is no particular defense of the practice. Rather, one can simply consider the practicality of the matter. There is no separating Mr. McCall from his job. If he, or any state official, is to be allowed to recommend job candidates — a reasonable function for people in positions of authority — they automatically carry with them the gravity of their position. None of the recipients of Mr. McCall’s letters would have been unaware of Mr. McCall’s office. On the contrary, it would be the central fact in weighting his opinion, no matter on what stationery he wrote his recommendation.

Job recommendations are a normal tool in business and in government service. A personal reference means more than that of a placement agency or a blind application. Though Attorney General Spitzer may have refused to write recommendations, it seems a needless restraint, perhaps only gauged to prevent any political misfortunes such as have befallen Mr. McCall. As to those he might have helped, the Spitzer approach could even be seen as selfish or churlish. Mr. McCall’s file of letters might not speak well of his political acumen, but the letters speak well of his generosity and concern for others.