By Roger J. Stone Jr.

Governor David Paterson

Anyone who has meet New York Governor David Paterson will concede that he is a nice guy and an imminently likable person. Since being thrust into the Governor's chair, he has sadly made a series of missteps, miscalculations and political errors that make his prospects for reelection dim. He has raised taxes, increased spending and still needs billions more in budget cuts.

Professional Democrats are frustrated by Paterson's failure to leave center stage; in Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, Democrats have a certain winner who would swamp any Republican and begin a new era for New York Democrats.

While Paterson has failed to galvanize an African American base (Cuomo would lead Paterson by 2 to 1 among African American Primary voters), Cuomo's political comeback in the Empire State has been remarkable and the Attorney General has demonstrated the political discipline missing from his earlier campaign for Governor. The New York Daily News charted Cuomo's remarkable comeback in significant pieces this weekend.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo

Still, the White House's effort to snuff the candidacy of Paterson is heavy handed Chicago-style politics at its worst. Cuomo has studiously avoided criticism of Paterson or outright statements of candidacy in a calculated effort not to antagonize Paterson's supporters.

The White House effort is more about Obama and his national racial positioning than it is about Paterson or New York's governorship. When the black President dumps the black Governor of the Nation's largest state, it shows that he is a post-racial President of all the people. Paterson is sadly a pawn in Obama's national political manipulation.

Obama seems to have achieved what Paterson could not achieve for himself; public sympathy. 61% of New Yorkers now say that Obama should butt-out and let Paterson make his own decision. Even Saturday Night Live's portrayal of Paterson which was once clever and funny has become mean spirited with over-the-top jokes about his blindness.