Asked about dwindling Democratic support for his re-election bid on Don Imus’ show this morning, New York Gov. David Paterson proudly declared, “I’m black, I’m blind and I’m still alive. Now how much better do they want me to be?”
Paterson has had a rough tenure since taking over as New York’s governor after Eliot Spitzer stepped down in the wake of a sex scandal. First there was the bungled handling of the appointment to Hillary Clinton’s old Senate seat, and then reports that the White House and other Democrats had encouraged the unpopular Paterson to step aside to clear the way in 2010 for Andrew Cuomo to reach the governor’s mansion relatively unchallenged. And now rumors are buzzing that Paterson has some sort of scandal of his own.
Paterson said this morning that there’s been “a well-orchestrated attempt” to push him out of the governor’s race. Touting his record of paying off state creditors and ensuring funding to a variety of New York public agencies, Paterson declared:
I’m black, I’m blind and I’m still alive. Now how much better do they want me to be?
But the real question, Imus asked, is whether Paterson still supports Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), who he appointed to take Clinton’s old seat.
“Yeah, sure,” Paterson said.
“Then why’d you meet with that little skunk Harold Ford?” Imus asked, adding that Ford is a “backstabbing little weasel.”
Paterson didn’t really take the bait. “I appointed her and I stand by her,” Paterson said of Gillibrand.
Watch the interview here.
