Gov. David Paterson (D-NY), trying to salvage his chances in next year’s election after it leaked that the White House asked him to step aside, told his gubernatorial opponents — none of whom have officially announced — to have “courage” and “get up and say what you’d do now.”
“When all these phantom people who say they’re running for office get into this race, they are gonna have to answer the same questions I’ve been answering for 18 months,” he said on CNBC this morning. “And, by the way, if they wanted to show they were different and they were exciting and they were gonna make Albany a different place, why don’t they answer those questions now?”
Paterson wouldn’t say whether he was talking about former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Republican, or Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat.
“I’m not talking about anybody in particular,” he said. “I keep hearing about all these people who are running for office. If you had any courage, if you wanted to be a leader in a crisis, get up and say what you’d do now.”
Paterson is facing a multi-billion-dollar budget deficit, which he estimates at $3 billion and the state budget office says will be around $2.1 billion. Income tax revenue has dropped 36 percent in the last year, he said.
On President Obama urging him not to run next year, Paterson said it’s not personal.
“They are concerned about Democratic races all around the country,” he said. “I see it as what has become an overly politicized process.”
But he still wanted to defend himself.
“I don’t think I’m hurting my party,” he said. “I don’t need a lecture from anybody about how to be a good Democrat. I’ve been supporting Democrats all my life.”
