Cluelessness

Our governor is a disgrace.

Paterson finally realized that his chances for election this fall were and have been nil for months. He bowed out after getting a poly sci 101 lesson from his rapidly shrinking inner circle who finally told him to pack it in before the governor’s mansion collapses around his ears. But he remains clueless about how appallingly he’s behaved while the rest of us learn more and more about his creepy, inexcusable hypocrisy.

Paterson made domestic violence one of his pet issues as a state senator. Was he serious or just rattling off talking points prepared by a staffer? Did he read his own bills? The governor has a law degree—does he know what the law is? Does he give a shit?

The details trickle out: Paterson’s driver’s girlfriend goes to court for a restraining order after a violent incident last Halloween. The state police—who have absolutely no business getting involved in the matter—start phoning the complaining woman and, she reports, harassing her to drop the charges.

Paterson’s own office then places a call to the woman, asking her to phone in. Paterson himself talks to her shortly before she is to appear in court. If that was not illegal, it should be.

The victim herself is now in the sights of investigators for having purchased a shiny new automobile for $30,000 in cash, which the extremely hostile New York Post rightly wonders about, given her annual salary of around $60K. Wouldn’t it be something if it turns out she got some carrot to go with the stick?

The whole affair is beyond tawdry and makes the gossip about a supposed sex scandal look tame by comparison—not that some further trash couldn’t follow. What’s most amazing is the utter incomprehension displayed by this alleged adult over what is appropriate behavior, not just for a governor but for a human being. One would have to probe the guy’s childhood as the scion of a Harlem political machine family for insights—if anyone cared.

Paterson’s swan song news conference featured the following sterling line: ‘I give you this personal oath—I have never abused my office.’ No reporter asked the obvious question: ‘How would you know?’