Paterson: Only the Voters or Death Can Get Me Out of Office

Governor Paterson held a press conference today to talk about impending snow (the natural kind). But naturally talk veered to the rumors surrounding a yet-unpublished NY Times "bombshell" that some have speculated would force Paterson to step down. The Governor said he sat down for an interview with Times reporters today, and the questioning did not have to do with the salacious gossip that's been swirling for the past week. "I was interviewed for that piece," Paterson told reporters. "No such questions related to any of that information was asked of me at any interview. [The reporter] said he would leave all that speculation for other news sources." And then Paterson defiantly unloaded on the Times for not clearing the air.

"They don't seem to be interested in addressing it or doing anything about it—I think it's appalling," Paterson said. According to Politico, he added that he'd written the paper's public editor to complain "and to ask how they would expect him to act if a government agency 'took some kind of action that slandered a citizen.'"

Paterson also reiterated that there's no way a State Trooper could have found him embracing a woman in a utility closet because "we don't have a utility room at the Mansion. [Times reporter] Danny Hakim was there today. He couldn't find it." BOOM. And you know what else? "The only way I'm not going to be governor next year is at the ballot box and the only way I'm leaving before that is in a box," Paterson added, shooting lasers out of his eyes that immediately incinerated the press pool.

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By John Del Signore in News on February 9, 2010 5:13 PM

Comments [rss]

Greenpoint60

Nixon and Agnew said the same thing. Spiro's speech was a classic.

Jackie Curtis

One down (monserrate), one more to go.

Lautaro

JDS, that was pretty funny.

dutchtwista

you also endorse housing discrimination PN, so um, no thanks....

Polite New Yorker

I'm only joking about Harold Ford; I hope he takes his carpetbagging elsewhere.

I do not endorse housing discrimination; only respecting all people's rights, including their property rights. You're welcome.

dutchtwista

Well slap me silly, we have common ground! Ford is a turd, an entitled, pampered dauphin with no connection to his avg constituents struggles... and this is coming from someone with a personal investment in the growth and maturation of African-American political leadership at the national level. If he ran in TN, I'd give him (very) lukewarm support. Maybe.

ps - property rights are a key American value but they do not and should not trump universal civil right to freely pursue life, liberty & happiness. What interest does a selling homeowner really have beside highest ROI? A property seller's wish to freely discriminate ex post facto is hate to say it, "unAmerican"...

i know we disagree, just my .02

handsomedevil

OK, so here's my theory on what happened.

Some would-be Roger Stone hears second-hand gossip about Paterson, perhaps from a state trooper, and arranges an interview with a NYT reporter. This is "the story" that doesn't seem to exist. They are then proud of what they've done and call a bunch of other people to prime them for the big bombshell.

Meanwhile, Paterson is contacted and he says "not only is none of this true, but if you publish it I will sue your asses into oblivion." He or his people make a compelling case that it's all a smear.

So, "the story" is dead. There's no evidence to back it up, and no direct witnesses to whatever the hell it's supposed to be. All of this extraneous swirl is coming from the would-be originators of the story. The Times will eventually do the opposite of what everybody expects, and report that "people in Albany are saying blah, but there isn't any evidence that it's true, and it looks like a concerted campaign to smear Paterson." That's what they are working on now.

If I'm right I expect you all to send me fifty bucks.