ALBANY – If journalism is two thirds conflict, then a slow news day at the state Capitol yesterday made the press see even the softest of political jabs as a haymaker.

That, at least, is the position that aides to Attorney General Eliot Spitzer took after their boss made an impulsive appearance on a daily radio program of Fred Dicker, state bureau chief for the New York Post.

Mr. Spitzer, the only Democrat who has expressed interest in the 2006 race for governor, sent reporters – and aides – scrambling by stating his brief but critical take on the on-time budget that was passed by legislators amid fanfare last week.

The comments, essentially a plug for substance over process, caused a stir because they offered a rare window into the political philosophy of a man whose front-runner status in the governor’s race is built more on high-profile Wall Street investigations than explicit political positions. By weighing in on the budget, Mr. Spitzer appeared to be dipping his toe into the political battles that constitute daily life in Albany. Early polls show Mr. Spitzer well ahead of Governor Pataki in a hypothetical race. Mr. Pataki has not said whether he will seek a fourth term.

The impromptu radio spot took place when Mr. Dicker, a veteran Capitol reporter as famous here for needling politicians as he is for digging dirt, jokingly wondered out loud to his Albany area audience where Mr. Spitzer has been spending his time recently.

Mr. Dicker raised embarrassing questions last week on the whereabouts of Lieutenant Governor Mary Donohue, resulting in the sudden reappearance of Ms. Donohue at the state Capitol in recent days.

“Has anybody seen Eliot Spitzer around recently?” Mr. Dicker asked his Albany-area audience. “I mean, his picture keeps appearing in the papers, but has anybody seen him at the Capitol? Are we going to have to start an Eliot Spitzer watch, kind of like the Mary Donohue watch?”

Minutes later, Mr. Spitzer appeared in the hallway outside Mr. Dicker’s studio office, as evidence he was not only nearby but accessible. After a few moments of rushed small talk, in which the attorney general observed that children seem to prefer Macintosh operating systems and confessed to jogging with an iPod, talk turned to the budget.

It was Mr. Spitzer’s observation that a good budget is better than a timely budget that prompted a reporter from another New York City daily paper to post a story, within hours, suggesting that it was a swipe by Mr. Spitzer at top Democrats who had played prominent roles in the push for a timely budget.

“Even if we have overcome some of the process hurdles in terms of getting a budget passed,” Mr. Spitzer said, “we have not confronted the very difficult substantive issues: How do we pay for education, how do we control Medicaid spending, how do we invest in infrastructure, how do we create an economic foundation for growth in that massive piece of the state which is in financial distress.”

Mr. Spitzer’s staff sought to play down the interview and the subsequent news article. “There is no need for elaboration,” a spokesman for Mr. Spitzer, Darren Dopp, said. “People are examining what’s in the budget and what’s not. That’s what everyone else is saying. There are no surprises there.”

Mr. Dopp also rejected the idea that Mr. Spitzer intended to criticize Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a driving force behind this year’s on-time budget, or the state comptroller, Alan Hevesi, who rushed over to the Capitol last Thursday to certify the budget. Both are Mr. Spitzer’s fellow New York City Democrats.

“That seems to me ridiculous,” Mr. Dopp said. “He didn’t say that, and he prefaced the whole thing by saying, ‘I’m not passing judgment.’ That certainly wasn’t intended.”

Those who have been waiting for Mr. Spitzer to articulate his positions on a variety of issues were left hoping for more. He limited his time with Mr. Dicker. “I actually have a meeting downstairs,” Mr. Spitzer said when invited by Mr. Dicker to stay for more questions. “But after your bait that suggested I wasn’t in Albany, I had to pop up and say hello.”

At least one person who has been waiting for more from Mr. Spitzer is the chairman of the state’s Conservative Party, Michael Long. He said he thinks Mr. Dicker was onto something by wondering where the attorney general has been.

A spokesman declined a request for an interview with Mr. Spitzer to clarify personally the comments he made to Mr. Dicker.