Gov. David Paterson said today that neither Caroline Kennedy nor any other candidate is his frontrunner to replace outgoing Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, saying he hasn’t even interviewed Kennedy yet.

“No one has consistently been at the top of my list,” he said in an interview with Gannett News Service in his office at the state Capitol. “I don’t even know if I have a list, in other words, who is number one.”

Paterson rejected the idea that he’s under pressure to pick Kennedy, who has garnered the most attention among the potential successors to Clinton. He said he’s received no push from Washington leaders or President-elect Barack Obama to pick Kennedy, who has a close relationship with the incoming president.

Paterson said the field of candidates has been narrowed to about eight to 10 people. He has sent 28-page questionnaires to the candidates.

“I haven’t even met with Caroline Kennedy,” he said. “I will because she asked me to. I’m getting around to her and a couple of other people who asked to be considered.”

In a radio interview today, Paterson recognized Kennedy’s lack of experience for the seat, saying that it is one of her negatives.

“Caroline Kennedy obviously does have a tremendous relationship with the president, which is certainly a plus,” he said on WOR-AM 710 in New York City. “She does not have much political, I mean, legislative experience, which is a minus. She has pluses and minuses.”

The Democratic governor added that he’s surprised “by the amount of attention that Caroline has gotten for being a rather demure, almost shy, rather reserved personality.”

Paterson’s timetable to make a decision could come sooner than expected as Clinton’s confirmation hearing as secretary of state is scheduled for Tuesday. Paterson said he wouldn’t pick Clinton’s successor until she resigns from the Senate. His pick would have to run in 2010 and then again in 2012 to retain the seat.

But Paterson said he hasn’t even focused on the selection and instead was preparing for his State of State address, which he gave Wednesday. The legally blind governor spent 60 hours memorizing the speech.

And he said his first order of business now is to select a chief judge for the state Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court. The deadline to pick a successor to succeed retired Judge Judith Kaye is Jan. 15.

In the wide-ranging interview with Gannett, Paterson said he didn’t feel Kennedy’s heavily criticized rollout of her candidacy hurts her chances to be selected. Kennedy was knocked for not having a clear agenda and for media interviews in which she repeatedly used “you know” as she spoke.

“I never knew Caroline Kennedy for much public communication,” he said. “I just never knew her to have any.

And so I didn’t think it would be one of her strong areas, even before the rollout.”

Ultimately, Paterson said he’s looking for someone who can meet a host of qualifications.

“I think it’s more the person,” he said, “what their vision is for the state, what tools they have to implement some of things that they talk about, their knowledge of Washington, their ability to access help from the federal government, particularly right now.”