What a difference a year makes.

New Yorkers anticipated a vigorous mayoral campaign at this time last year. A Bloomberg landslide wasn’t in the cards. Then again, no one predicted the Democratic candidates would prove so inept.

There were also unrealistic expectations about the then-distant race for governor. Attorney General Eliot Spitzer appeared on his way to a free ride among Democrats after Senator Schumer decided to direct Democrats’ long-shot efforts to take control of the U.S. Senate. With Mr. Schumer opting out of the governor’s race, Mr. Spitzer had the stage to himself.

Inevitability is not without responsibility. Mr. Spitzer didn’t realize that, which is why he now must contend with a primary challenge from the Nassau County executive, Thomas Suozzi. Instead of moving vigorously around the state – engaging reporters and community groups with a sense of energy and optimism – Mr. Spitzer retreated behind the walls of his attorney general’s office.

What a mistake. Instead of broadening his repertoire to include issues important to New Yorkers, Mr. Spitzer has stuck to his tired playbook that places national issues above mere statewide concerns. That offered an opportunity to Mr. Suozzi, who doesn’t seem to care much about the world beyond New York.

Mr. Suozzi formally entered the race for governor over the weekend. This seems like as good a time as any to offer them both some advice.

To Mr. Spitzer:

You’ve done a fantastic job making a name for yourself and proving the adage, “A man is defined by his enemies.” By alienating Wall Street you’ve made yourself a man of the people. Now start spending time with some.

Just think back to the mayoral race: Mayor Bloomberg campaigned vigorously beginning in the spring, taking advantage of his incumbency by scheduling “official” events that paid clear political dividends. Your hapless buddy Fernando Ferrer could barely muster a campaign event a day. Reporters wondered what Mr. Ferrer’s strategy was. We’re still wondering.

What’s your strategy? You haven’t done a television interview about New York politics since the Democratic National Convention – I remember because I interviewed you, and you were quite good. Reporters need to eat, and stories are their diet. If you don’t feed them, Thomas Suozzi will. And you won’t like how that dish tastes.

Reporters aren’t the only people frustrated by your unwillingness to engage this campaign in a dynamic way. Insiders have complained for weeks that you’re not running a real campaign operation. Being hands-on is one thing. Keeping everyone else’s hands off is self-destructive.

Remember Gifford Miller. He was also a smart guy who didn’t like taking advice from campaign professionals. Perhaps he wouldn’t have sent out $1.6 million worth of taxpayer-funded mail – and then claimed the campaign-style brochures cost only $36,000 – if he had some adult supervision.

At the very least, make sure you’re never alone when talking to an adversary. You need your own adult supervision to make sure you don’t threaten any more Wall Street moguls.

There’s no shame in reaching out for help – the only shame for you is losing a winnable race. Look back on recent successful campaigns: Bush had Rove, Pataki had Zenia & Kieran, Bloomberg had half the consultants in the Western World.

Get it together. You have the money. You have the clout. You have the ideas. You deserve this job. Now go earn it.

To Thomas Suozzi:

Wow, can you believe how passive Eliot’s been – letting you win all this positive press without even trying to get ahead of you? Chalk that up to luck, because at some point he’ll tap his bank account and hire himself some campaign pros who won’t let you have it so easy.

You need to keep the momentum going. The press loves you right now because you’re all they’ve got. But at some point reporters will grow tired of all the positive stories and they’ll feel compelled to turn up the heat. You can preempt that by giving us a new story line.

We all know the basics: You’re running to the right but you’re still on the left. You’re the outsider who really is an insider. You don’t care about Wall Street but you like Wall Street money.

Stop talking and start listening. Pull out Senator Clinton’s playbook and find a short version – you don’t have a year but you can spend a couple of months traveling the state pretending to contemplate New Yorkers’ concerns. Either way the technique sounds good.

Here’s a gimmick that might work. Remember Steve Forbes and the “Hope, Growth and Opportunity” bus he drove through New Hampshire a decade ago? He put some gargantuan speakers on top of the bus and had a raspy voice sing his theme song. That’s what you need. A bus and a theme song to make you a man of the people. Imagine all the positive press you’ll get in the local papers upstate?

You really don’t have much chance, so liven this election up. You’re already giving Eliot more trouble than he expected. Now’s the time to show us whether you’re for real, or just real smooth.

Mr. Goldin’s political column appears weekly.