All eyes are peeled as the defining crisis of the modern New York State government approaches its thrilling conclusion. As always, there were the skeptics, the naysayers and the downright recalcitrant.

Some said it could never happen. Some said the government couldn’t take on the task in a time of recession. Others said the special interest lobbying power of Big Alcoholic-Energy-Drink would crush any attempts to regulate the industry. Still others said any attempt at malt beverage reform was D.O.A.

But thanks to the political heroism of Gov. David Paterson and his allies, this state will soon be once and for all purged of the scourge that has infiltrated our neighborhoods and corrupted our children: Four Loko.

‘This is going to protect our young people,’ said State Senator Jeffrey D. Klein on Sunday. ‘This is going to make sure our young people no longer have access to this dangerous product. But I don’t think our work is done.’

We admire his courage. Klein took on what doubters called a minor issue, but he had the foresight to recognize Four Loko for what it was: a crisis.

Gov. Paterson’s dogged determination to take on the leaders of Phusion Projects, the plutocratic robber barons responsible for the venomous slime, is almost certainly the reason he didn’t seek re-election this fall. Paterson must have known that his fight with Loko-vested interests could cost him dearly in political capital.

So, he waited. He waited while Albany floundered in billion-dollar debt, biding his time for the right time to strike. He waited while the state capitol nearly cataclysmically imploded under the pressure of its own inability to pass a budget, content with the knowledge that the real fight would come later.

Paterson sacrificed temporary popularity in the name of a higher political calling ‘ history will redeem him.

When the people of New York, decades from now, look back upon this dark time in state history, they will not fault Paterson for his apparent total inability to govern. He will not be remembered as a hapless but rule-bending leader that crippled unions, state parks and public secondary education.

He will be remembered as the governor who battled Four Loko and won ‘ the blind prophet that managed to see past the minutia of managing a massive government and had the vision to stop a canned plague from literally destroying our youth.

Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo will benefit from Paterson’s heroism. Now that the Four Loko issue has been dealt with, Cuomo has the ability to take on less important pieces of public policy. Like state funding of entitlement programs or reform of SUNY’s relationship with Albany, for instance.

New York is in great shape. Now that the unspeakable evil of one brand of malted energy drinks has been vanquished, we are finally primed to move forward.