NEWS JUNKIE POST
Feb 22, 2010 at 10:10 amNew York State: The Argument For David Paterson
As a lifelong New York Mets fan, I love underdogs. So cringe if you will, but I just can’t help rooting for David Paterson. The New York Governor, who officially tossed his hat into the election ring last Saturday has been dogged by everyone form the venerable New York Times to President Obama. No one, with the exception of Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio and late night comics, want him to run. No Democrat stood by his side on Saturday when he announced: “After all you’ve heard, the one rumor I will confirm: I am running. I will not quit. And we will win!” Still, for their parts, both Congressman Charlie Rangel and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (who may face a tough primary challenge from carpetbagger Harold Ford) both offered lukewarm on-camera endorsements of the incumbent and cited scheduling snafus for their absence.
Paterson, who scored New York’s top spot after the last guy, Eliot Spitzer, was forced to resign amid revelations of his penchant for prostitution, has Andrew Cuomo nipping at his unpopular heels. Cuomo, the current New York Attorney General and the son of former Governor Mario Cuomo, hasn’t officially announced his candidacy, but polls show him decisively ahead. Heck, some polls even show voters would prefer Spitzer over Paterson! So you can see why he’s my guy. I mean it’s not only unsavory but unfair when the guy dubbed by the tabloids as “the Luv Gov” and his former main squeeze hooker, Ashley Dupre, each have high profile media gigs– he as a commentator on MSNBC, she as a sex advice columnist for The New York Post– while the new guy takes the fall in the worst economy in decades.
There are things about David Paterson to admire. For one, as the country’s first legally blind governor, he is a role model for those living with disabilities. He has an affable personality and a steely determination. That combination made him an effective state senator and Lt. Governor. So it has been shocking how ineffectual he has been since taking the helm in 2008. A political power play in the state Senate, executed with all the savvy of a junior high school student council coup, brought Albany to a grinding halt last year. In a bizarre aside: one of its chief architects Hiram Monserrate has just been expelled from the very body he nearly crippled, due to his recent conviction in a case involving assaulting his girlfriend.
Paterson resignation rumors whirled for weeks as word of a scathing forthcoming article in the Times was set to break. New York reporters were bracing for Paterson to call it quits on Super Bowl Sunday. But while the Saints came marching in, the beleaguered governor did not make his exit. With about as much sizzle as Chris Rock’s Oscar hosting stint, that article finally appeared in last Fridays’ paper. And, as Paterson kept saying, there was nothing in it worthy of a force- out. Paterson’s leadership style was characterized as “remote” and his campaign staff accused of spending too much money on restaurants. One of his chief advisors has a tainted history that includes one or more drug convictions. And his fifteen year old son was, along with two pals, recently arrested, for playing dice on a New York City street. Snooze on.
This is not to suggest Paterson is a boring guy. He has fueled the tabloids with colorful fodder including his ( and his wife’s) previous admitted adultery and cocaine use. In recent months, there were numerous reports of his alleged late night rendezvouses with myriad women. Turns out it was one late night, with one woman–characterized by Paterson as a “family friend”– in a restaurant in New Jersey. The most scandalous part of that tryst, apparently, was its location!
New Yorkers aren’t thrilled with Paterson’s performance, that’s true. More residents would like to see supermarkets sell wine than have Paterson keep he’s job. A new Siena College poll finds only 19 percent of registered New York voters say they’ll vote for Paterson, while 58 percent would like to find bottles of alcoholic grape line their local grocery shelves. But had he been governing in boon times, their assessment might be different. He–like most governors–are constitutionally required to balance the state’s budget. And while the state Senate fiddled, he’s made some tough calls and cuts. He even proposed a so-called “fat tax,” adding soda and junk food to the “sin tax” smokers already face on cigarettes. Public outcry has–so far, anyway,–put the kibosh on that plan. Let’s face it, incumbents across the country are up against it. So Paterson could take the easy road, throw in the towel and write a memoir and/or land a talk show. Instead, he vows to fight on. I like a guy like that.
And besides, why should Illinois and South Carolina get to have all the fun.
Editor’s Note: Please follow Amy Beth Arkawy on Twitter. Please read her other articles on News Junkie Post .
Kirsten, not Kristen
Siena, not Sienna
corrected. apologies for the errors… and thanks.
Paterson is such a goofball. But I guess that’s your point. Good material for the media and comedians! You always have an interesting take, Amy.
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by NewsJunkiePost: Please RT: New York State of Slime: Defending David Patterson http://newsjunkiepost.com/2010/02/22/new-york-state-of-slime/...
He blew it with Obama when he didn’t give Caroline Kennedy the Senate seat. Not his fault, though, How was he to know what a bumblng candidate she would be. He’s done. Put a fork in him. Still, another great article, AB!