Politics on the Hudson

Governor Paterson said this afternoon and that he and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo “have talked about the Senate.”

But Paterson’s aides warned not to look too much into that comment, and that Paterson was not suggesting that Cuomo wants the seat being vacated by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

“Attorney General Cuomo and I talk very regularly,” Paterson said at a Manhattan news conference. “We have talked about the Senate. And our conversations, as are the conversations with anyone else, are private.”

Cuomo has declined to say whether he’s interested in the Senate seat, though many Democrats believe he is the only viable challenger at this point to Caroline Kennedy. Paterson will appoint Clinton’s replacement next month.

Then again, there’s this growing theory that Cuomo wouldn’t want to take on Kennedy, even though he had a nasty divorce in 2003 from her cousin, Kerry.

One Democratic operative said privately today that Cuomo may not want to anger Democrats again by challenging Kennedy for Paterson’s nod. It took him years to get back into the party’s good graces after he ran in a primary in 2002 against Democratic gubernatorial candidate Carl McCall.

Speaking of Kennedy, here’s her interview with reporters yesterday in Rochester, followed by her comments today in Harlem after meeting with the Rev. Al Sharpton.

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