Gov. Paterson’s wife — emotionally stunned at President Obama’s request that her husband not run for another term — ripped into him today, saying that it’s “very unfair” the president asked New York’s “first African-American governor” not to seek office.
“You never heard of that before,” Michelle Paterson, in her first comments on the situation, said following a luncheon in Midtown.
“David’s the first African-American governor in the state of New York and he’s being asked to get out of the race. It’s very unusual and it seems very unfair.”
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Paterson added, “I never heard of a president asking a governor not to run … so I thought it was very unusual that this would be asked of David and I don’t think it’s right.”
Obama aides have asked the embattled Democratic governor, who has done poorly in recent polls, not to run for governor in 2010.
Paterson said her husband was shocked at the request.
“I think he was stunned. Like I said this is very unusual,” she said.
Paterson has said he will run for governor despite the possibility that former Mayor Rudy Giuliani might challenge him.
In the meantime, Paterson’s wife stumped for the governor.
“I don’t think that David’s message is getting out,” she said.
“I want people to know that David’s extremely smart, one of the smartest people you’ll ever meet,” she added. “I want people to know that he’s a real caring person and has a lot of integrity and wants to do the right thing for this state.”
Ms. Paterson also said that Obama told the governor during a trip to upstate New York on Monday that he was “a little chagrined about how the White House handled the message.”