The Obama administration, fearing that Gov. Paterson is too embattled to remain at the top of the ticket, has sent a direct message asking him not to run for a full term as governor.Â
Multiple sources said the White House and national Democrats, fearful about Paterson’s performance, low poll numbers and increasing lack of support, had decided to suggest he not run again, accelerating a timetable for their plans after the governor went on a rant claiming his poll problems are thanks to a racist media — in which he invoked Obama’s name.
“The message was delivered,” said one source familiar with the events, adding that concern about Rudy Giuliani had helped drive the timeframe.
Sources said the message was delivered to Paterson through multiple people in the past week, including directly from the White House around last Tuesday’s primary. The governor was deliberately not invited to attend a major Wall Street address Obama gave last Monday.
And it came just a week before the president is slated to give a major speech in upstate New York tomorrow.
The governor was let know that there is deep concern he will be a major drag on the Democratic ticket next year, concerns that became elevated as well-polling Republican Rudy Giuliani has sent increasingly serious signals about running for governor, the sources said.
The move could allow many Democrats, including black elected officials and leaders who have been privately concerned about Paterson, to switch their support to Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. Public polls all show Giuliani trouncing Paterson but losing to Cuomo.
Aides to Obama and Paterson couldn’t be reached last night.
Among those involved in discussions about the situation has been Queens Rep. Gregory Meeks, sources said.
Yet Paterson has so far dug in, announcing Friday that he was hiring campaign manager Richie Fife, and highlighted the fact that Fife worked on the Obama campaign.
That night, Paterson met with Meeks, the sources said, who made a similar suggestion to Paterson about getting out.
The White House had long been concerned about Paterson, with whom the Obama administration has had a strained relationship, and they’d hoped to find an easier out for the governor, sources said.
But they realized it was untenable after his racially-tinged rant, which prompted a rebuke from Obama aides — and after which not a single black elected official in New York defended Paterson.
It sets up a dynamic where the nation’s first black president, who generally steers clear of race discussions, is calling on the state’s first black governor to step aside.
“No one knows whether Giuliani is running,” said one well-placed Democratic source, adding about Paterson, “If it was anyone else they would have sent the same message a long time ago.”