By KENNETH LOVETT, STEPHANIE GASKELL & ROBERT HARDT Jr.

November 1, 2002 -- Five days before Election Day, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton yesterday left Carl McCall far behind - and crossed party lines to join Gov. Pataki for a ribbon-cutting at an upstate plant.

Although Clinton has endorsed McCall - who trails Pataki by 20 points - the former first lady was all smiles with the Republican governor at the opening of the Scienx plant at the former Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome.

Observers said it appeared Clinton was betting with the likely winner - not unlike how she had prominently marched in a parade with McCall even though she was supposedly neutral in his Democratic primary against Andrew Cuomo.

At a press conference, Pataki thanked Clinton "for her aggressiveness" and doing a "great, great job" in getting the Georgia-based company to bring 500 jobs upstate.

Clinton returned the compliment, saying: "I appreciate greatly the governor's strong support and tireless efforts in making this happen."

When first hearing of the joint appearance, Harlem Rep. Charles Rangel - a prominent McCall supporter - erupted.

"I didn't know she was up there. Shame on her," Rangel told reporters in Manhattan.

But the congressman quickly insisted he was joking, adding: "Hillary Clinton has been a great senator, a great Democrat and a great supporter of Carl McCall."

At the upstate press conference, Clinton and Pataki chatted away as photographers captured the bipartisan moment, while Pataki quietly said to the senator: "I don't want to get you in trouble."

While Clinton spoke of her strong support for McCall, she refused to say a single negative word about Pataki's eight-year record.

Clinton and her aides also emphasized that they had asked the company to hold off on the announcement until after the election, but were told it had to be held by the end of the month.

Speaking at an education event in Midtown, McCall said he had no problem with the Pataki-Clinton appearance.

"She developed a program that will bring some jobs to upstate New York," McCall said.

"She had to work with the governor to do it. The governor is insisting that it's got to be announced now, so she went along with it."

McCall also apparently was more in the mood for tricking instead of treating.

When a Post reporter told the candidate he was dressing up as a hippie for Halloween, McCall said: "I thought you were going to be something else - and I would give you the broom to go with your costume."

-- Anonymous, November 01, 2002