Politico: "The White House is leaning on New York Gov. Paterson to drop his reelection campaign."

[Clio the Leo]

PUSHING PATERSON: The White House is leaning on New York Gov. David Paterson to drop his reelection campaign, the New York Times reports.
From the NYT: "The decision to ask Mr. Paterson to step aside was proposed by political advisers to Mr. Obama, but approved by the president himself, one of the administration officials said. ... 'Is there concern about the situation in New York? Absolutely,' the second administration official said Saturday evening. 'Has that concern been conveyed to the governor? Yes.' ...

"The president’s request was conveyed to the Mr. Paterson by Representative Gregory W. Meeks, a Queens Democrat, who has developed a strong relationship with the Obama administration, they said.

"The move against a sitting Democratic governor represents an extraordinary intervention into a state political race by the president, and is a delicate one, given that Mr. Paterson is one of only two African-American governors in the nation."

http://www.politico.com/politico44/wbarchive/whiteboard09192009.html

(humming "Sweet Caroline," to myself as I leave the thread.)

[Uzybone]

1. I saw this was coming

bad poll numbers + ineffective governorship + letting Caroline dangle in the wind = please don't run Patterson

[Danger Mouse]

2. Interesting. I wonder what Paterson will do.

Personally, I'd rather not see somebody like Ghouliani become governor, and I think Paterson has close to no chance of re-election.

[FrenchieCat]

It's Politico, so I shall ignore.....

But it it were true, which because it is Politico (the New Drudge) it is impossible to tell, considering the lack of sources.....Most would agree that Patterson has been quite ineffective to date. I like the man fine....but he came in awkwardly (announcing his and his wife's extra curricular activity while separated), and has been governing that way ever since, from all that I can tell.

Still, it is Politico, and so I'm creeped out about even dicussing this shit.....
and no, I didn't go to the article to read it. Politico doesn't get that benefit
from me.

[donheld]

5. It's also in the NYTimes

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/nyregion/20paterson.html?hp

[FrenchieCat]

3. Accidental Double post

But will say....Politico is so out!

[Merlot]

4. Isn't Patterson pretty unelectible at this point?

Seems like Obama admin wouldn't even need to worry about this one.

[quiller4]

12. He is and that is a good reason to convince him not to run and

clear the field for another Democrat. I am really glad that Obama and the DNC are trying to push weak Democrats out of races. We need fewer battering primaries and more general election wins.

[ShadowLiberal]

16. Yeah, and Cummo is raising cash like he's gonna run for governor, regardless of what he says

No way Paterson would survive a primary challenge from Cummo, I've seen polls with him like 30 points behind, even though he's the incumbent governor.

[Pilotguy]

6. I'd like to see

Andrew Cuomo run for Governor of NY. I think he would be tough to beat.

[footinmouth]

7. I hope he doesn't run

In good conscience, I cannot vote for him. If it's a choice between him and a Republican I will just sit it out. The state is a mess. I'd rather have Spitzer back.

[Pirate Smile]

8. The WH asked Paterson not to run and Paterson refused to agree - explains why this has gone public

along with the following:

The situation between Mr. Cuomo and Mr. Paterson has been a complicated one. Mr. Cuomo is still haunted by the fierce backlash he stirred in 2002 when he decided to run in the Democratic primary for governor against H. Carl McCall, the first serious black candidate for governor.

Now, Mr. Cuomo effectively has the blessing of the nation’s first black president to run against New York’s first black governor. That will probably neutralize any criticism he may face among the governor’s prominent black allies, including Representative Charles B. Rangel of Harlem, who warned this year that the party would become racially polarized if Mr. Cuomo took on Mr. Paterson.

[liberalpragmatist]

9. One of the big worries is that Paterson could hurt us in House races

If Paterson looks set to lose big, and if Republican turnout is up because they think they can reclaim the governorship with Lazio or Giuliani, then it *might* endanger Kirsten Gilibrand in the Senate, but, more importantly, it could cost us 3-5 House seats (i.e. Maffei, Massa, Arcuri, Scott Murphy, Mike McMahon, John Hall, etc.)

[mgcgulfcoast]

11. i dont like it

cant we work hard for patterson? we have a big advantage in new york to begin with.

[Cha]

14. Blue dog, mike arcuri who voted against joe wilson getting

reprimanded or whatever the heck they did and doesn't seem to even want to talk about a Public Option.

[Clio the Leo]

10. Politico is now citing this NY Times article.....

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/nyregion/20paterson.html?_r=1&hp

[SoCalDem]

13. Rudy is running, and might actually win

Paterson has not "caught fire", like some guessed he might. NY has a history of electing republicans, and I don't think the WH is eager to see a republican governor there.

[saltpoint]

15. Cuomo would be the far stronger nominee against Giuliani, if it's

Giuliani who eventually makes the GOP race.

Paterson can pull this out in the same way the Baltimore Orioles could charge back and make it to the World Series.

I'm not seeing it. Paterson's done. He's a man of considerable gifts but he's done in New York politics, IMO.

I'm guessing Andrew Cuomo has assessed the field and likely has concluded that it looks pretty good.

We need to keep the governor's position blue in New York. It's a stronghold for Democrats up and down the ballot. Appointments made employ blue tenets for public policy.

We can't turn that can of influence over to Giuliani or some other Puke.

[TreasonousBastard]

17. As I said in the other thread on this...

the White House is absolutely doing the right thing.

Midterm elections are alway dangerous, and Paterson losing bigtime could bring down three or four House seats, Gillibrand, and the State Senate.

This would not be good, so Paterson should step down. I understand his reluctance, but it's tough to imagine him pulling out of this mess.