Paterson on a Mission from God

As if the shitstorm brewing over New York Governor David Paterson is not raining down upon him hard enough, recent comments made by the embattled politician are sure to keep his critics hounding him. Speaking to what the New York Times calls a "sympathetic crowd," Paterson stated that "I will keep governing to the end of the year, in the spirit of making the tough decisions and trying as hard as I can to fulfill the mission in which God placed me."

Where to begin? Primarily, God did not place David Paterson in the position of governor of New York. There was no Sermon on the Catskills decrying Paterson's rise to the governorship. In reality, David Paterson is governor of this state because of Article IV, §5 of the New York state constitution. That, and his predecessor liked to diddle prostitutes.

What makes Paterson's statement even more incredible is the fact that Paterson was a last-ditch pick as lieutenant governor from Spitzer's gubernatorial campaign that was so inept, they thought when warned that Paterson was a "hard partier," that it meant he liked to work out a lot. Paterson's own father wanted someone else in the spot, and the Harlem powerbrokers pushing the elder Paterson's candidate for lieutenant governor were "wildly pissed off" when it became public that the younger Paterson would be Spitzer's second-in-command.

But let's just pretend that God was in the business of manipulating state politics to let accidental governors rule in Albany. Would he really choose someone who cheats on his wife and dabbles in coke and the occasional witness tampering? I would hope not. Politicians in general need to follow Thomas Jefferson's advice and realize, "religion is a matter which lies solely between man and his god," not man, his god, and the people of the state you find yourself governing.

Photo - Paterson leaving church after explaining the mission God has sent him on (NY Times)