NY SEN: Paterson Won't Be Rushed
Gov. David Paterson (D), speaking at a Christmas Day dinner in Harlem, said that those urging a hurried choice of a replacement for Sec/State-designate/Sen. Hillary Clinton (D) will not rush his selection, the AP reports.
Paterson: "Many of those who are calling for a quicker decision would probably help the decision if they would refrain from all the gossip and the atmosphere that's been created."
Paterson said he will make the best possible pick, but added, "I feel less anxiety over the choice because in two years, the public will, in a special election, determine who is the senator."
Paterson returned from a surprise trip to Iraq, a trip on which he was accompanied by Reps. Steve Israel (D-02) and Anthony Weiner (D-09). Israel, according to the New York Post's Fred Dicker, "has made no secret" of his interest in Clinton's seat.
Weiner is contemplating an '09 challenge to NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg (I), Caroline Kennedy's most prominent backer.
With some NY Dems souring on the sense of inevitability surrounding Kennedy, that Paterson flew halfway across the world with Israel and Weiner bending his ear is not insignificant.
Meanwhile, Kennedy acknowledged the unusual nature of her candidacy in an AP interview today at the Gee Whiz diner in the TriBeCa neighborhood of Manhattan over a grilled cheese and bacon sandwich and coffee.
Kennedy: "I came into this thinking I have to work twice as hard as anybody else. I am an unconventional choice."
She told the AP "that she had been reluctant to appear to be campaigning for the job because it was an appointment, not an election." Kennedy: "I was trying to respect the process. It is not a campaign."
She also "said she believes her approach had been 'misinterpreted.'" Kennedy: "If I were to be selected, I understand that public servants have to be accessible."
(STEVEN SHEPARD)
I hope that if Paterson appoints Kennedy as Senator, he does not accept 2010 campaign donations from her. That would be seen as quid pro quo (e.g., Blago in Illinois)