NEW YORK, NY February 02, 2007 —Albany gridlock, meet: the Steamroller. Governor Eliot Spitzer compared himself to the heavy equipment during a heated exchange with a Republican lawmaker. WNYC's Elaine Rivera has more.

Spitzer used the term during a conversation with Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco. Tedisco complained about being left out of state ethics negotiations.

The New York Post reported that Spitzer made the analogy, but used an expletive beforehand to describe what type of steamroller he was. Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno couldn't help but comment that he once owned a steamroller that got stuck on his horse farm and needed to be pulled out with a tractor. Steamroller T-shirts are now being sold.

At a press conference, the governor says James Taylor's language is good enough for him, referring to his song called “Steamroller.” There's a line in the song that also refers to being a napalm bomb that will blow your mind. A Spitzer spokeswoman would not elaborate on whether the governor knows all of the lyrics. For WNYC, I'm Elaine Rivera.