Polls Show Gov. David Paterson In Trouble

Newsmax.com:

A new poll released Tuesday shows Gov. David Paterson slumping to the lowest job approval and favorability ratings since he took office almost a year ago.

The Siena College Research Institute also looked at potential 2010 election matchups and found the Democrat trailing Republican Rudy Giuliani — 51 percent to 36 percent — despite a 2-to-1 enrollment advantage for Democrats in New York. They were in a dead heat a month ago. The poll shows Democratic Attorney General Andrew Cuomo leading Paterson 51 to 38 percent in another possible contest. Neither Giuliani nor Cuomo have said they will challenge Paterson in 2010.

The grim news for Paterson comes as he most needs the power of persuasion and public support to deal with the state's fiscal crisis. He is under pressure from special interests that are mounting million-dollar ad campaigns to trash spending cuts in the austere budget he has proposed to the Legislature.

"The commercials against the governor's budget proposals are having an impact," said Steven Greenberg, spokesman for the Siena poll. "More than 80 percent of voters are concerned that the proposed budget cuts in health and education would adversely affect the quality of health care and education in New York."

I don't believe that Paterson is in as much trouble as the press makes it seem. Sure, he's done some dumb stuff (like bragging early on about extramarital affairs and his handling of the Caroline Kennedy-for-Senator episode was inept), but considering that he had to come in under the cloud of the disgrace that is Eliot Spitzer, deal with a state budget that's been a headache for eons and a struggling economy in general, unless he pulls a Spitzer and does something really stupid between now and then, I think he deserves to be the Dem choice for Governor come 2010...especially if Rudy Giuliani is the GOP pick.