David Paterson, the unelected Governor of New York, had a really bad day today. Those pesky press conferences! Those nagging reporters! Those damn leaks out of his very own office!
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The New York Times has an article up describing David's day, and it was not his finest. First of all, he was SUPPOSED to be leaving for the Davos, Switzerland conference for five days (gotta love those foreign junkets), but our damn state budget problem beckons.
As for his travels, the governor appeared to acknowledge that the timing of his trip to Davos, Switzerland, was not ideal, given the state’s economic and fiscal trouble. The World Economic Forum typically attracts a who’s who of financial and political titans, and Mr. Paterson expected to be there for several days. But with the specter of a recession this year, some, like Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, have opted not to attend.
When asked if he still planned to attend, given the projected $15 billion budget deficit, Mr. Paterson responded, "I think I’ll stay here," adding, "Perhaps it would be a better idea to go at another time, send a couple of assistants and stay right here with the leaders of the Legislature and work on the budget."
A spokeswoman for the governor, Marissa Shorenstein, later clarified that no one from the governor’s office would be attending the Davos meeting.
Don't you just HATE it when they cancel your vacation?
And that wasn't his only problem today. Now those pesky reporters want to know why he trashed Caroline Kennedy. And, darnit, he doesn't really have an answer for that:
When asked if the anonymous attacks on Ms. Kennedy had come from inside his administration, Mr. Paterson at first denied he or his staff had been behind them.
"I’m denying it," he said at an environmental conference at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library, which was convened by Kirsten E. Gillibrand, the senator-designate.
But then he equivocated, lamenting the leaks that had been emanating from his office throughout the Senate search and his inability to determine who was responsible for them.
"But there have been leaks coming from my administration throughout this entire process of choosing a senator, of contradictory types of information," Mr. Paterson said. "Now, as you know, this is a pretty serious thing, and actually one that I would condemn."
He added: "I would love to know who is responsible. But at this point, I’ve been unable to determine that."
Man, it must be hard to govern when nobody will tell you who was naughty in your own office.
And if you think I am having way too much fun with this, you're absolutely right.