Governor Paterson Embarrasses Himself and New York
Steve Adubato, Ph.D.
CBS 2 Political Analyst

Governor David Paterson has no one to blame but himself.  He blew the job of replacing Hillary Clinton in the US Senate from start to finish.  He took way too long to do it, he sent mixed signals throughout the process, he gave out too much information of what he was thinking, and then he blamed us in the media for trying to figure out what the heck he was actually saying. 

The Caroline Kennedy deal was a fiasco, and while she clearly wasn’t ready for “Prime Time”, it’s once again David Paterson taking the lion share for this series of political blunders.  Worse yet, the Governor couldn’t figure out how to give Caroline Kennedy the opportunity to gracefully bow out.  Sources say Paterson wanted to get her to stay in the race, even though it was likely he wasn’t going to choose her.  And after she did awkwardly get it, the Governor’s people savaged her, demonstrating a lack of class and of small mindedness that, even by New York’s standards, was pretty bad.

 Then finally, Paterson makes his choice of little-known representative Kirsten Gillibrand.  Where does that come from?  Who is this Congresswoman whose first introduction to the public is at a press conference with Paterson on one side and former Republican Senator Alfonse D'Amato on the other?  What was up with that?  And what was wrong with this picture?  Now Paterson has virtually every serious Democrat either laughing or gunning for him.  He’s guaranteed himself a battle with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.  It would have been a lot smarter to pick Cuomo for the Senate seat and get him out of the way.  But now it’s too late. 

And what does Governor Paterson do in the midst of the state’s biggest crisis and on the heels of his bumbling efforts regarding the Clinton Senate seat?  He takes a highly questionable and expensive trip to Switzerland... wait a minute, news report.  We just got word.  The Governor has announced he is NOT going; he’s sending some of his staff instead.  Apparently, the Governor got the message that New York voters wouldn’t stand for it.  If only he had gotten the message sooner on this US Senate debacle. 

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