Happy Birthday to Our State Piñata!

Photography by Mike Groll/AP

David Paterson turns 55 years young today. PolitickerNY gives a rundown of the festivities up in Albany, which including Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith surprising the governor with an exquisite-looking birthday cake. When asked why there were no candles, a Paterson staff member said, "We didn't want to burn down the Red Room."

Paterson was signing a bill extending unemployment benefits for those out of work for another 13 weeks of what will now surely be "summer madness." Paterson said, "These benefits allow unemployed New Yorkers to pay for their homes and buy food for their families while also searching for jobs." Politicker adds that he also mentioned that his birthday wish was "that my cursive-writing teacher, wherever she is, will never see this paper."

New Yorkers wished Paterson an early happy birthday on Monday with a little Bronx cheer. The latest poll released shows that voters disapprove of the job he is doing by a 2-to-1 margin and a potential match-up with Rudy Giuliani for the 2010 election currently has the governor trailing by just under thirty points.

If you're in search of a challenging round of marry, boff or kill, Paterson shares his birthday with David Wells and Busta Rhymes.