Obama gives Paterson the finger, Paterson gives him the finger right back

[Caliga]

Can't we all just get along? 

N.Y. Governor Paterson Won't Halt Campaign Amid Obama Unease
By Michael Quint and Nicholas Johnston

Sept. 21 (Bloomberg) -- New York Governor David Paterson said he still wants to be the Democratic candidate for governor next year, even after President Barack Obama conveyed unease amid sinking poll results.

"My plans for 2010 are to run for governor of the state of New York," Paterson, 55, said after marching in the annual African-American Day Parade in New York City.

Paterson said he wouldn't discuss "confidential conversations" when asked about a New York Times report that Obama administration officials asked him to withdraw.

No one at the White House has ordered Paterson not to run, said a White House official, speaking on condition of anonymity. The administration shares the concerns of party leaders in New York about Paterson's political strength going into the 2010 election, the official said.

Obama "has not spoken to me," Paterson said yesterday. Developing a plan to close a $2.1 billion budget gap in the state's $131.8 billion spending plan is "the most important issue I'm going to focus on in the next few months," he said.

The Times reported that the administration and New York Democratic Party officials are pushing Paterson, one of only two black state governors in the U.S., because they fear weakness at the top of the ticket might influence other races. Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick is the other officeholder.

Obama's message was delivered by Democratic Representative Gregory W. Meeks of Queens, according to the Times. Telephone messages left for Meeks at his offices in New York City and Washington were not returned.

Polling Data

Paterson's political future has been discussed as public opinion polls show him trailing other Democrats and losing a hypothetical election contest to former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, a Republican, who has said he is considering seeking the office.

"Presidents are party leaders and part of the job, particularly in first term, is to recruit and make tough decisions," said independent analyst Charles Cook, Washington- based publisher of the nonpartisan Cook Political Report.

"The only thing unusual about this is that you have a governor who has no chance of being re-elected who doesn't seem to take a hint that it's time to bail out," Cook said.

Traditionally, Democrats running for Congress and the Legislature most directly may feel the effects of a Republican gubernatorial victory.

In the New York Senate, Democrats hold a 32-30 majority, after winning control of the chamber in 2008 for the first time in 43 years.

2010 Redistricting

Maintaining that edge in next year's elections is critical to Democrats, because it would give them an advantage drawing new district boundaries based on 2010 Census results. Democrats hold a wide majority in the Assembly. There are 5.87 million registered Democrats and 2.96 million Republicans in New York, according to the Board of Elections.

New York's 29-member U.S. House delegation has 26 Democrats and three Republicans, according to the House Clerk's office. The Republican count includes Representative John McHugh, who has been confirmed as Army secretary in Obama's administration.

An Aug. 16 Quinnipiac University poll of registered voters showed 59 percent disapproved of the way Paterson is handling the governor's office. The survey from the Hamden, Connecticut, based school found that voters favor Giuliani over Paterson 53 percent to 33 percent in a potential gubernatorial race. If state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo were the Democratic candidate, he would beat Giuliani 48 percent to 39 percent, according to the poll, which had a 2.4 percentage-point error margin.

Giuliani Bid

Giuliani's possible candidacy "frightened a lot of people" and his entry to the race may force party leaders to jettison Paterson, said George Arzt, a Democratic political consultant.

The message from the White House is "only three-quarters of a death knell," and Paterson still may rebound, Arzt said. After the November elections "there will be caucuses around the state, and that is when you could get people going to the governor and saying, 'You can't do this,'" Arzt said.

Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee, said he was 'stunned" the Obama administration would send such a message to Paterson and not to New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, who has similar approval ratings and trails Republican Christopher Christie in polls before the Nov. 3 election. Steele spoke on CBS Television's "Face the Nation."

Cuomo Profile

In New York, Cuomo is the son of former Democratic Governor Mario Cuomo and has kept his name before the public with investigations of companies making student loans, prices charged by health insurance companies and money managers hired by the state pension fund. For months he has deflected questions about running for governor.

"I've been doing my job" and want "to stay away from the politics," Cuomo said during a radio interview Sept. 18 on radio station WGDJ in Albany. Asked about Paterson's low standing in polls, Cuomo said, "These are very difficult times."

Paterson has confronted growing budget deficits since he became governor in March 2008. He called for a public meeting with lawmakers Sept. 25 to discuss a multiyear solution.

The budget approved in April included unpopular fee increases for drivers licenses and vehicle registrations, and ended state rebate checks for local property taxes registration.

Spitzer Resignation

Paterson, a former state senator from Harlem, was elected lieutenant governor in 2006. He moved to the governor's office in March 2008 when Eliot Spitzer resigned after being identified as "Client 9" in a federal prostitution investigation. Spitzer wasn't charged with wrongdoing.

Paterson enjoyed early popularity before his ratings slid with his handling of the vacancy created when U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton became Secretary of State. He chose first-term U.S. Representative Kirsten Gillibrand of Hudson, disappointing more experienced congressional Democrats and supporters of Caroline Kennedy, daughter of the slain president, who also sought the job.

To contact the reporter on this story: Michael Quint in Albany, New York, at [email protected]; Nicholas Johnston in Washington at [email protected].

[Eddie Teach]

No one at the White House has ordered Paterson not to run, said a White House official,

Denying the ridiculous exaggerated claim is pretty much an admission of the actual claim in politics, isn't it.

[Faeelin]

Patterson: The latest victim of Dolchstoß?

[Caliga]

BARACK OBAMA DOESN'T CARE ABOUT BLIND BLACK PEOPLE. 

[Vince]

So let Paterson run.  At the rate he's going Cuomo will beat him in the primary.

[Berkut]

If Patterson runs, I will vote for him.

Otherwise I will likely vote for whatever Republican they throw up there.

[Vince]

If Patterson runs, I will vote for him.

Otherwise I will likely vote for whatever Republican they throw up there.

I'd vote for Paterson as well.  Otherwise I'd vote for any candidate that advocates disbanding the NY Senate. 

[DGuller]

So, Cuomo or Giuliani.   :nelson  Good luck, New Yorkers.  Maybe New York does need the Great Purge after all, so maybe Giuliani wouldn't be such a bad option.

[Valmy]

Otherwise I will likely vote for whatever Republican they throw up there.

He appreciates your support

[Berkut]

No possible Republican can be worse than the probability of seeing a Dem who is going to increase taxes even more, and increase spending even more than that.

Although it is all likely hopeless anyway. I don't think New York can be fixed at this point.

[DisturbedPervert]

Disagreeing with Obama?  This guy sounds like a racist.

[Valmy]

Disagreeing with Obama?  This guy sounds like a racist.

[Caliga]

Although it is all likely hopeless anyway. I don't think New York can be fixed at this point.

Is New York the new California? 

[Berkut]

Disagreeing with Obama?  This guy sounds like a racist.

You can tell because of how careful he is to use non-racist terms to express his disagreement. Very clever of him.

[Vince]

Although it is all likely hopeless anyway. I don't think New York can be fixed at this point.

Is New York the new California? 

NY failed long before California did.