President Barack Obama wants New York Governor David Paterson to step aside and withdraw his candidacy for the next NY Governor's race. The decision to ask Mr. Paterson to step aside was said to have been proposed by political advisers to President Obama, who gave his approval for the decision. The general election is still more than a year away, but Paterson's ratings are dismal.
Mr. Paterson, who was promoted to governor from lieutenant governor in March 2008, in the wake of former Governor Eliot Spitzer's resignation over a prostitution scandal. Paterson's ratings have been dismal, prompting a request for him to step aside.
President Obama's aides have grown increasingly concerned about Governor Paterson, especially when the governor suggested that recent criticism of him was racially motivated and that Mr. Obama would soon suffer similar attacks. This did not sit well with President Obama's advisers.
According to a NY Times poll done in June, Mr. Paterson is now less popular in the state than his predecessor, Eliot Spitzer, who resigned in disgrace after being identified as the client of a prostitution ring. Only 21 percent of New York voters say they have a favorable view of Mr. Paterson; 26 percent have a favorable view of Mr. Spitzer. Seven in 10 respondents said Mr. Paterson did not deserve to be elected in 2010.
Governor Paterson has declined to make a comment about President Obama's request for him to not run for in the next race for NY Governor.
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