Obama Driving Bus Over Governor Paterson: Patterson Defiant

Get Out

Update:

Gov. David A. Paterson defiantly vowed to run for election next year despite the White House‘s urging that he withdraw from the New York governor’s race.

Appearing tired and agitated at a parade in Harlem on Sunday, the governor told a crowd of reporters that he would not abandon his campaign to seek a full term.“I have said time and time again that I am running for governor next year,” he said at the 40th annual African-American Day Parade.Mr. Paterson would not characterize what he was told by the White House, saying that he would not “discuss confidential conversations.”“I’m not talking about any specific conversations,” he said. “As I said, I am running for office.”

Since pretty much everything is being called racist, Obama's unprecedented move ( I can't think of a time a President personally tried to run a governor out of the race) treads dangerously close to the R word.

The decision to ask Mr. Governor to step aside was proposed by political advisers to Mr. Obama, but approved by the president himself, one of the administration officials said.“Is there concern about the situation in New York? Absolutely,” the second administration official said Saturday evening. “Has that concern been conveyed to the governor? Yes.”

The administration officials and the Democratic operative spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions with the governor were intended to be confidential.The president’s request was conveyed to the Mr. Paterson by Representative Gregory W. Meeks, a Queens Democrat, who has developed a strong relationship with the Obama administration, they said.

The move against a sitting Democratic governor represents an extraordinary intervention into a state political race by the president, and is a delicate one, given that Mr. Paterson is one of only two African-American governors in the nation.

But Mr. Obama’s political team and other party leaders have grown increasingly worried that the governor’s unpopularity could drag down Democratic members of Congress in New York, as well as the Democratic-controlled Legislature, in next fall’s election.

A good question is is this being done to create an opening for Hillary Clinton? Anyway Patterson is none to thrilled about this:

Mr. Paterson and his aides did not respond to repeated requests for comment Saturday. Mr. Paterson arrived on Long Island Saturday evening to attend a dinner, but walked hurriedly past a reporter who tried to ask him about the White House request.

An aide to Mr. Meeks said the congressman could not be reached Saturday.

“The message the White House wanted to send — that it wants Paterson to step aside — was delivered,” said the Democratic operative,, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions were intended to be confidential. “He is resistant.”

Of course besides Clinton, Cuomo now has a clear shot to run against Patterson, if he is so inclined.