Ya but Tony ran a MICKEY MOUSE crew and something like this would have happened eventually. If not at the hands of Phil then from someone else's. Phil wasn't the first to want Tony dead. Most of the Jersey crew (Ralphie, Ritchie,Patsy, Benny, etc) wanted him dead at some point too. With Phil, Tony entered a battle he couldn't win. He couldn't beat New York, but my guess is that New York had no problem watching the "old-skool" guys like Tony and Phil whack each other out. They're both old dinosaurs anyhow.

Tony was NOT cut out to a mob-boss. Time and time again he worried more about his wife and kids than he did his mob family and that is NOT the oath that he took!!! Nothing is supposed to outrank the family. Plus, he tells Melfi that A.J could never cut it in the mob... A.J, who has panic attacks just like dear ol dad. NEITHER were fit for that life. Hell, Tony was forced into it by his father.

And I still think the fact that Paulie had been flirting with NY for the past 3 or so seasons had something to do with this all. I don't think Phil would have been as confident in invading Jersey if Paulie had not been practically shining NY's shoes for the past 3 seasons. Paulie might not have been directly involved in the treachery, but I think his "discussions" with John/Phil, etc, put Tony in extreme danger.

But again, I think Tony got it b/c he wasn't a real mob boss. Hell, he wasn't even MICKEY MOUSE, he was more like DONALD DUCK's crazy, quack-doctor Uncle from Austria...

Hey, DA. Did you hear that? I said that Tony wasn't even Mickey Mouse but he was instead Donald Duck's quack-doctor Uncle. You know, cuz he went to see a quack every week!