Politics on the Hudson

On national television today, Gov. David Paterson reiterated that he is running for election in 2010 but acknowledged that the White House has concerns about his candidacy. Paterson, who appeared on NBC’s Meet the Press, told host David Gregory that his conversations with President Barack Obama’s administration were private. When pressed a few times, he admitted that the White House doesn’t think he should seek office next year. “They certainly sent a message that they have concerns, and I appreciate that. But let me just tell you at the outset, I am running for governor in 2010. I don’t think this is an issue other than for the people of the state of New York,” Paterson said in a nine-minute interview on the weekly program. In a Marist Poll last week, 62 percent of New York voters said Obama should not meddle in the affairs of the state, but they gave Paterson an all-time low approval rating of 17 percent. Sixty-three percent of voters said Paterson should give up his campaign. While some officials have indicated they don’t think Paterson could be elected in these circumstances, Siena New York Poll spokesman Steven Greenberg said a year is a long time in New York politics. “I think people who are writing the governor’s political obituary are doing so prematurely and at their own risk,” he said. |  Email This