Those of us at the upper reaches of the baby boomer scale remember the country and gospel singer Tennessee Ernie Ford and his signature song, '16 Tons.' It is a coal miner's lament that Ford recorded in 1955 and rode to the top of the charts. Tennessee Ernie, who died in 1991, didn't have much to do with New York. Instead, we have Tennessee Harold Ford. About the only thing that he shares in common with Tennessee Ernie is that he has generated something like 16 tons of speculation about whether he will enter a Democratic primary against New York's appointed junior senator, Kirsten E. Gillibrand. Noah's flood didn't last as many days as it has taken Tennessee Harold to make up his mind. No doubt, Tennessee Harold -- more properly, former Rep. Harold E. Ford Jr. of Tennessee -- will make his intentions known someday. We all wait with bated breath. In the meantime, his dabble in local politics has revived an old debate about what makes someone a New Yorker. The issue arises because Tennessee Harold has been in New York, doing nicely for himself on Wall Street, for only three years. That practically makes him an old hand compared with two previous holders of that Senate seat, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Robert F. Kennedy. Each of them won election roughly an hour and a half after setting up shop in the self-anointed Empire State. Still, Ford -- let's set aside the Tennessee Harold bit -- has to deal with inevitable suggestions that he is a carpetbagger. The point is hammered with vigor by primary-averse enthusiasts of Ms. Gillibrand. They act as if the Senate seat is her birthright and not a gift from a governor who himself reached office on a fluke. (A notable characteristic of New York party leaders, Democrats and Republicans alike, is that they are uncomfortable with the democratic process once it becomes inconvenient. Like old-school bosses, only without the cigars, they try to scare off anyone who dares challenge their designated candidate.) One question raised about Ford is how diligent he has been in paying taxes in New York. Several weeks ago, he said in an interview with YNN, a cable news station in Buffalo: 'I pay taxes there. And once you pay taxes there, you feel like a New Yorker.' That's an awfully limited definition. I worked for years in foreign countries, paying their taxes, yet somehow never felt like a Japanese, an Italian or an Israeli. If Ford does in fact enter the race and debate Gillibrand, someone might want to encourage him to expound on what makes one a New Yorker. Merely paying taxes doesn't cut it. You never can tell. The question may produce interesting results. That was the case in a debate 10 years ago when Clinton first ran for the Senate against Rick Lazio. She was asked to define a New Yorker. 'Well, you know, E.B. White and others have done that over the years,' she said. Essentially, her response was an evasion. But inadvertently, it allowed New Yorkers to learn something about their governor at the time, George E. Pataki. Plumping for Lazio post-debate, Pataki cited Clinton's mention of E.B. White as proof that she was not a true New Yorker. Never mind that White had worked at The New Yorker and written a classic essay called 'Here Is New York,' not to mention that he was also the author of 'Charlotte's Web' and 'Stuart Little.' Never heard of him, the governor said proudly. He referred to him as 'Wyatt or somebody.' So much for Pataki's Yale degree. Actually, Ford might find E.B. White useful, at least when he campaigns in New York City. In 'Here Is New York,' published in 1949 but still relevant, White said 'there are roughly three New Yorks' -- the city of those born here, the city of the commuter and the city of those who arrive from more distant places 'in quest of something.' The 'settlers,' he called that third group. They are the ones, he said, who give the city 'passion.' That's not a bad line for an outlander like Ford. It's certainly more poetic than saying you're a New Yorker because you pay taxes. Not that we don't want those taxes. Our problem in New York is that, while we contemplate the future of Tennessee Harold, we live with the reality of Tennessee Ernie. He sang: 'You load 16 tons. What do you get? Another day older and deeper in debt.' That's this state, all right. 