Obama & Others Tell Paterson Race Card's Not So Black & White

If Governor Paterson expected to look up after his comments Friday that we are not living in a "postracial period" and found a reaction of one person daring to applaud his nobility, building slowly toward a standing ovation, then he was sadly disappointed with the reality of the actual response. After the governor went on the radio and claimed that the media was orchestrating his perceived failure and that President Obama would be the next target, everyone seemed to respond with a "not quite, Dave," including reps for the president himself.

The Post says that White House political director Patrick Gaspard gave a call to Paterson's office almost immediately after the comments asking "why [Paterson] was dragging the president into" his troubles. The paper speculates that the "pointed message" from the president may have been what led the governor to release a clarifying statement later in the day where he said, "What I did point out was that certain media outlets have engaged in coverage that exploits racial stereotypes."

Paterson also received very public criticism following his statements from a fellow Democrat in Albany. Staten Island State Senator Diane Savino told the Advance, "David is one of those people who tends to rely on the staff around him to set policy and make decisions, and then he turns around and undoes things. The messaging and the policy development comes out in various conflicting forms...He is brilliant in many respects, but as we have all found out, you can be smart and not be able to govern."

During the controversial radio interview Friday, Paterson had also called out a couple of figures in the media by name—frequent New York Post critic Fred Dicker and perhaps unexpectedly, NY1's Dominic Carter. Paterson targeted Carter for playing to white critics by continuing to bring up the story about the governor's recent late night out at a Manhattan party. Carter responded to Paterson's words during The Road to City Hall. He said, “I almost don’t know what to say. The governor of the state of New York was calling me a modern-day Uncle Tom. Anybody that knows my background — me, an Uncle Tom? At the end of the day, I am a journalist, and we call them as we see them.”