A few days ago, Governor David Paterson was set to depart for a global economic meeting in Switzerland, miles from the clamor and charges that he made a mistake in selecting Kirsten Gillibrand as the senator to replace Hillary Clinton. While the trip has been cancelled because of the pressing economic crisis, there has been no decrease in the outrage about his choice.
One part of the criticism aimed at Paterson is about his handling of the process, and the other part is why did he choose a politician with so many views inimical to his own? Paterson said he regretted the way he handled the selection process. “In retrospect, I wish I had not showed all of you the wrestling match,” he told the press last Friday.
That “wrestling match” could have been avoided, his detractors insist, if he had made his decision earlier and not allowed the media to twist and turn it into the political theater that certainly does not enhance what has, to date,been a fairly favorable image.
“It is by no means a fatal mistake, as some people feel,” said State Senator Bill Perkins, who now occupies the seat once held by his longtime friend. “I don’t want to be too judgmental about this because we all make mistakes.”
Perkins said he’s been bombarded by people who want to know what happened. “They are part of my constituency, and they have every right to know,” Perkins explained. “They are right to want more transparency, as do I so I can be in a position to tell them what happened.”
The senator believes that if Gillibrand’s name was on the ballot, she might not have been elected since her views on immigration and gun control are contrary to those in the district he represents. “I haven’t had a chance to talk to her yet, but I don’t think she really understands the awesome danger the overwhelming number of guns has in our community.
“It is my hope that David got a better understanding from her about these positions because it will require a leap of faith on my part and on the part of my community to go along with this choice,” Perkins added. During the process of choosing Hillary Clinton’s replacement, Paterson may have done too much thinking in public. Those ruminations became fodder for the media that wasted no time stressing his indecision. This slowness to act only compounded the dilemma he has trying to manage a major budget crisis. But all he needs to push aside the current brouhaha is to show state residents that he has the imagination to overcome the fiscal fiasco and improve job opportunities, the environment and research in transportation and biotechnology.
Paterson may have fumbled the ball on this series of downs, but he’s shown the moxie and creativity to rebound with a touchdown and bring about victory. Only time will tell, and certainly by 2010, if he made the right choice in Gillibrand.