Patterico's Pontifications

9/20/2009

Sources Say … (Updated)

Filed under: Government,Obama — DRJ @ 5:37 pm



[Guest post by DRJ]

The Obama Administration and New York Governor Paterson are at odds:

“President Obama has sent a request to Gov. David A. Paterson that he withdraw from the New York governor’s race, fearing that Mr. Paterson cannot recover from his dismal political standing, according to two senior administration officials and a New York Democratic operative with direct knowledge of the situation.

The decision to ask Mr. Paterson to step aside was proposed by political advisers to Mr. Obama, but approved by the president himself, one of the administration officials said.

“Is there concern about the situation in New York? Absolutely,” the second administration official said Saturday evening. “Has that concern been conveyed to the governor? Yes.”

The administration officials and the Democratic operative spoke on condition of anonymity because the discussions with the governor were intended to be confidential.”

Notes Ed Morrissey, “the White House idea of ‘confidential’ must be “leaking to everyone who has a pen and a piece of paper.”

Apparently these tactics aren’t working so well because Paterson says he’s still running. I guess he’s a tough sell. Maybe Obama will have better luck negotiating with Ahmadinejad and Putin.

— DRJ

UPDATE: GOP Chairman Michael Steele wonders why only the black governor has been asked to step down?

“It raises a curious point for me. I think Gov. Paterson’s numbers are about the same as Gov. Corzine’s. The president is with Gov. Corzine,” Steele said. The RNC chairman was referring to Gov. Jon Corzine, the Democratic New Jersey governor who is facing a tough reelection bid this year.

Steele also said he would be interested in black leaders’ response to the White House request.”

60 Responses to “Sources Say … (Updated)”

  1. It must be the white half of Obama that is making him do this. Racist.

    JVW (4b16d3)

  2. Obama just tried to throw Paterson under the back of the bus.

    Official Internet Data Office (551c17)

  3. I’ve updated the post with thoughts from Michael Steele.

    DRJ (a51a0e)

  4. And what do you folks think about Mr. Steele’s sentiment?

    Leviticus (30ac20)

  5. Leviticus,

    I have it on the best authority that race is an issue in politics. It’s just not the overriding issue.

    DRJ (a51a0e)

  6. Gee, I wonder if any of the “leaks” got Paterson’s back up? Sightist scum!

    Kevin Murphy (3c3db0)

  7. Obama throws Paterson under the bus but Paterson crawls back out. The idea here is to let Paterson withdraw under heavy pressure then point to the state-run media the fact those racists forced another good black man out of office for nothing but racist reasons.

    If Steele’s statement gets any play at all, that plan gets a big ding.

    John Hitchcock (3fd153)

  8. Maybe Jimmy Carter will offer the same advice to Obama when his time comes for re-election.

    Haire Brain (310603)

  9. I would normally say that I want to sit back, eat my popcorn and watch the show. However, the truth is that I would want to be the messenger between President Obama and Governor Patterson, so I could perhaps embellish upon what each side is saying when I convey their missives.

    SomeOtherSteve (a01da5)

  10. DRJ,

    It’s just that I seem to remember a certain sector of the American populace deriding notions of the importance of race in politics on a fairly regular basis. But should I take this as the Management’s endorsement of accusations of racism as a political tactic? I know it’d be something of a turnaround from recent policy, but “the branch that doesn’t bend breaks”, as they say…

    Leviticus (30ac20)

  11. And what do you folks think about Mr. Steele’s sentiment?

    The same thing I think about Obama. Both were elected only because of their race. I guess Republicans think if you can’t beat them, you might as well join them in the racial pigstye. Disgusting.

    John Henry Eden (80fca9)

  12. Barack likes to have all the marbles or he pouts. This Paterson dweeb threatens the little president man’s pile of marbles.

    happyfeet (6b707a)

  13. Michael Steele didn’t say anything that embarrassed himself I didn’t think. That’s always a win for Mikey.

    happyfeet (6b707a)

  14. Speaking of using strong-arm tactics to mitigate situations of “dismal political standing”, the administration has already successfully convinced Roland Burris to agree not to run in 2010. Gee, Mr. Steele you may be on to something. I think I see a pattern developing here.

    elissa (cb3595)

  15. I don’t see a pattern exactly. Other than little president man is burning through political capital like there’s no tomorrow.

    Which, that’s worrisome.

    happyfeet (6b707a)

  16. John Henry Eden: Can you say anything that doesn’t suggest you’re a racist? That one post you made (the only one I’ve ever seen you make here) suggests you are, indeed, a racist. And, quite frankly, I don’t have any interest in listening to racist garbage. (I’ve written several articles to that effect.)

    John Hitchcock (3fd153)

  17. I kinda think Michael Steele got his job cause of his race. I guess we’ll never know but it’s a workable theory I think. He hasn’t made the Republicans a damn bit more appealing anyway and he a lot regularly says stupid things. Also he was a lot vocal in his support of Meghan’s daddy for president. Just for that he should resign. Or at least he should apologize I think.

    happyfeet (6b707a)

  18. Hmm. To be more clear I’ll just say I don’t read anything racist in Mr. Eden’s comment. Let me read it again.

    Nope. Maybe I’m just reading it not the same way. He’s offended when the Republicans promote a black guy not on his merits but as part of some douchey hey look we has pigment too branding scheme is how I read it.

    If Mr. Steele wasn’t such a dimbulb I don’t think Mr. Eden would feel the same way.

    happyfeet (6b707a)

  19. Footsie, there was an Ohio politico who was deep in the running for Steele’s current position. The Ohio politico was also melanin-enhanced. And there is the history of Ohio (R) politicos who tend to be RINO or fence-sitting Republicans, just like much of the (R) politicos from across the nation, who, as a Rasmussen poll shows, are more liberal than the grass-roots Republican party.

    While I agree Republicans, politico and grass-roots alike, want to have a better face to deliver the truth, I believe race was secondary to message. But the message is too liberal for grass-roots Republicans, nonetheless.

    John Hitchcock (3fd153)

  20. Since when does the president request a governor to step down? States, take back your rights and your balls for Christ’s sake.

    Audacity (2fd5ad)

  21. Yes. It’s hard for me to be fair cause of I’m so far deeply unimpressed with him. God knows we could have done worse though. But still I don’t think Mr. Eden person is racist was mostly my point. At least not based on that one comment.

    happyfeet (6b707a)

  22. Since at least the 1930s, big daddy has done everything possible to build a big, centralized government. BHO has decried SCOTUS’ dependence on the written word found in the Constitution and the amendments as preventing the work BHO wants done.

    Again, I remember hearing BHO talk about rewriting the Constitution and the Declaration to serve his agenda of changing the US. Surely, there is a youtube of this. I just don’t have the ability to do the searches necessary to find it.

    John Hitchcock (3fd153)

  23. this one? that’s the only one I remember that was sort of like that…

    happyfeet (6b707a)

  24. sorry. this one I mean

    happyfeet (6b707a)

  25. Heh, my wifi connection actually held strong enough. That’s a great youtube link. But my reference is to a fall/winter 2008 statement he made. Much more caustic than that link but much briefer and covered up by “everything else” and the adoration of the Beetles’ type screaming teenage girl stuff.

    John Hitchcock (3fd153)

  26. Karl would know.

    happyfeet (6b707a)

  27. The comparison of Corzine to Paterson is not appropriate, except under affirmative action standards.

    Corzine is an intelligent, talented, self-made multimillionaire; while Paterson is a minor political hack, the son of another minor political hack, who has always eaten out of the public trough and who has no qualification for the offices he has held other than the race card.

    nk (df76d4)

  28. But my hearing of the link you provided puts him strongly at odds with the Oath of Office he took. And everything he’s been doing has been strongly at odds with that Oath of Office.

    John Hitchcock (3fd153)

  29. Leviticus said:

    And what do you folks think about Mr. Steele’s sentiment?

    First, who are “you folks?”

    Second, I haven’t read Mr. Steele’s full comment, but it seems to be fairly reasoned.

    Third, I’m always leery of anonymous sources.

    Fourth, the sitting president is the defacto leader of his party.

    Fifth, if the White House did indeed send a missive to New York’s governor to stand down, it not only would be inappropriate, it would also would amount to the kind of hubris many only believed the Bush administration was capable of in their most fevered imagination.

    Sixth, because of my comment in the fifth example, I don’t think it’s true. But I don’t know what the end-game of the one’s taking part in the farce are trying to accomplish.

    I can only imagine that you see something sinister in Mr. Steele’s remark. Please enlighten us.

    Ag80 (592691)

  30. “The comparison of Corzine to Paterson is not appropriate, except under affirmative action standards.

    Corzine is an intelligent, talented, self-made multimillionaire; while Paterson is a minor political hack, the son of another minor political hack, who has always eaten out of the public trough and who has no qualification for the offices he has held other than the race card”

    Just one problem. This isn’t a job interview, it’s politics. Both are Democratic governors running for re-election in large urban states whose numbers are in the proverbial toilet. As a NJ resident I can tell you that Jon Corzine has been a terrible ineffectual governor — although I am sure he was highly talented at his Wall Street job.

    Obama could care less about how “talented” either individual is. He cares about the drag on his party (and the Congressional and Senatorial elections) if one or both go down to defeat. As it is, 2010 is not going to be a great year for the Dems. Having a weak ticket for governor in a big state can only hurt that situation.

    Bored Lawyer (f7318d)

  31. And that should be:

    But I don’t know what the end-game of the ones taking part in the farce are trying to accomplish.

    Ag80 (592691)

  32. Ag80: You really shouldn’t lump Leviticus into the “liberal troll” group. He is a liberal, that’s true. He has a liberal bias, that’s true. But he debates as best he can with honesty, contrary to the trolls. Please tone down your rhetoric at the end of your commentary in regards to Leviticus. I personally disapprove.

    John Hitchcock (3fd153)

  33. The major difference between Paterson and Corzine is that the former will need lots of financing and will suck up valuable Democrat dollars that otherwise would be spent holding Hillary Clinton’s old Senate seat, whereas the latter can self-finance his campaign. Besides, if Corzine continues to tank the New Jersey Dems can always pull a Torcelli and swap candidates in October.

    JVW (311832)

  34. John Hitchcock:

    I won’t argue with you about Leviticus’ intentions, but he asked an open-ended question that only invited skepticism.

    And I think I asked an honest question. I saw nothing in Mr. Steele’s remarks to provoke his comment.

    Maybe I shouldn’t have said “please enlighten us,” but I really don’t know where he is going with this.

    If you’ve read my comments, you know that I really cannot abide race-baiting trolls. But you also know that I give any commentator the benefit of the doubt.

    I have no quarrel with Leviticus, other than disagreement on political issues, and I apologize to you and he if I came off as insincere.

    Ag80 (592691)

  35. Ag80: If you’ve read my comments, you’d know I’ve stood up beside you, this past week even, against attacks on you. If you’ve read my comments (and especially if you’ve read my blog), you’ll know I am no friend to race-baiters under any circumstances.

    I agree Leviticus’ query was open-ended and invited skepticism, but I’ve read many of his comments and I’ve sparred with him in the past. His record shows him to be worthy of honest debate. I suggest a strong “consider the source” approach, knowing he has a long history of honest debate, before throwing anything he says out. Despite the apparent “baiting” of his query. There is much more to Leviticus than that.

    John Hitchcock (3fd153)

  36. Oh, crud, linkage issue for the three-peat. Admin please cull.

    John Hitchcock (3fd153)

  37. Fair enough. I will more carefully consider my comments in the future.

    As I said, I have no quarrel with you or Leviticus.

    Ag80 (592691)

  38. Has someone alerted Gates that Obama might be racist? Another beer conference scheduled yet?

    bill-tb (365bd9)

  39. Leviticus:

    But should I take this as the Management’s endorsement of accusations of racism as a political tactic?

    No, but you knew that, and you probably also know I don’t appreciate your back-handed effort to make me look like a racist.

    Michael Steele did exactly what Barack Obama and his surrogates do — used race to make a point. If Steele is wrong then Obama and his surrogates are, too, but surely you don’t think we shouldn’t talk about what they say?

    DRJ (c51ed0)

  40. Celery soup for Leviticus.

    daleyrocks (718861)

  41. Since when does the president request a governor to step down?”

    Oh, since about November, 2008.

    Steve B (5eacf6)

  42. Steve B, you might want to change that date to January, 2009. Ya know?

    John Hitchcock (3fd153)

  43. DRJ’s right. Steele is obviously mocking the left’s race obsession rather than actually trying to make one race a protected class of governor.

    I think a lot of people identify so closely with what’s being mocked that they have a hard time realizing it’s satire.

    It’s like when Rush ‘demanded’ that buses be segregated. Charles Johnson and Meghan Mcardle both have a hard time seeing why this is an obvious satire and Rush wasn’t either earnest or a poor judge of how he came across. I think some people just think in terms of race, and some don’t, and to those that do, everyone is a viceral racist and the government must step in. They think they are actually better than the non-racists because they don’t even realize some people don’t care about race very much.

    Juan (bd4b30)

  44. John, he had the ‘office of president elect’, and bush basically stepped down at that point to give Obama whatever he wanted (half these consessions are now used as excuses for that Obama ‘inherited’ as though Obama didn’t demand them.

    Part of that was Bush’s folks remembering how hard their lives were in transition from Clinton’s admin. When the GOP tries to live up to its own set of rules, they fall into a trap.

    Juan (bd4b30)

  45. I don’t need to bother with accuracy. I know how I FEEL.

    Steve B (5eacf6)

  46. the administration has already successfully convinced Roland Burris to agree not to run in 2010

    I don’t think this administration has anything to do with the Burris decision; he was well – known as a corrupt party hack for years, and he lost badly in two previous Dem statewide primaries, even before the recent crapola came down. His approval rating is something along the lines of 20%, and even his loyal base of Chicagoans are questioning his future prospects. Even for a corrupt state like IL, Burris is widely seen as a pathetic loser.

    Dmac (a93b13)

  47. I think Steele was just pointing out the seeming problem with this action. If justified criticism of an office holder who is black is considered racism, then the White House ordering a black office holder to step back from re-election when they would not do the same to a white office holder in the same circumstances MUST be considered racism.

    I think he is mostly pointing out the hypocrisy of those who attack the Presidents critics.

    Have Blue (854a6e)

  48. Steele is obviously mocking the left’s race obsession rather than actually trying to make one race a protected class of governor.

    Very tortuous reasoning, Juan. Steele is playing the race card in the exact same way people on this very site accuse people on the left of playing the card. It won’t kill you to admit it.

    In other news, Paterson’s a loser, regardless of anything Obama may say. One of the governor’s first mistakes was saddling us with another “blue dog” in the Hillary senate seat when we could have easily gotten away with a rock-solid liberal.

    He will never be elected governor, nor should he be. Aren’t his numbers lower than Spitzer’s?

    Myron (6a93dd)

  49. Myron you are a moron (and not the good Ace kind). This is a straight call out to liberal hypocisy.

    And yes Paterson is a disaster. His pick for Senator was always going to be weak as he was always going to pick a Democrat.

    Currently he is losing to every possible Republican candidate including Pataki.

    Have Blue (854a6e)

  50. Ag80/John Hitchcock,

    I took no offense. Ag80’s questions were perfectly reasonable. The only “sinister thing” I saw in Steele’s remark was the racial overtone, which I see damn near every day in the rhetoric of the Obama administration’s liberal supporters (and which makes me gag every stinkin’ time). Which leads me to…

    DRJ,

    I’m just making a point about double-standards. You know I don’t think you’re a racist. But the fact of the matter is that Steele did do “exactly what Barack Obama and his surrogates do – use race to make a point” – and the typical (perfectly laudable) response of conservatives has been to mock the shit out of that particular tendency. So what gives? Why does Steele escape the “race-baiter” label that has been assigned so regularly to people like Jimmy Carter (who, for the record, totally deserved it, unless you’re willing to attribute his remarks to senility).

    I’m not leveling a back-handed accusation of racism at you. I’m reminding you to stick to your guns.

    Leviticus (30ac20)

  51. Perhaps Steele was using race to make a point because the WH was guilty of a racial double standard?

    AD - RtR/OS! (8c7b14)

  52. Why does Steele escape the “race-baiter” label that has been assigned so regularly to people like Jimmy Carter

    I’d like to hear a cogent answer to this question myself.

    I suspect, however, we’re more likely to get cricket chirping and a handful of lame insults.

    Myron (6a93dd)

  53. It is rich to hear Myron whining about someone else “race-baiting”. The unintentional irony is staggering.

    It seems fairly clear to me that Steele was making a mockery of the Leftist practice, going all Alinsky on them, making them play under the rules that they created. But, I can understand Leviticus’ point, and it is well taken. Myron’s, on the other hand, does not have an iota of good-faith behind it, and can be summarily dismissed out-of-hand.

    JD (9019c8)

  54. Leviticus,

    Like it or not, race is an issue in today’s news and I’ve covered it, such as when I reported in another post on John McCain’s response to Jimmy Carter, and I posted above on Michael Steele’s statements. People today are using race to make points on both sides, just as they used gender to make points when Hillary was running, and just as they will probably use similar tactics in the future.

    I think it’s appropriate for bloggers and commenters to object to what Steele said, just as some objected to what Carter said, but I don’t think I have to be the one to do it. If you think that makes me a hypocrite or someone who doesn’t stick to my guns, so be it.

    DRJ (b008f8)

  55. DRJ: I’m not trying to call you a hypocrite. You’re right that you tend to simply report things and leave supporting or condemning those things to the comments section, and in that respect it was wrong of me to suggest that you weren’t “sticking to your guns” – you were reporting Steele’s silliness the same way you report the silliness of Obama’s acolytes.

    So: my apologies.

    Leviticus (07729d)

  56. One other thing we have overlooked is that Corzine did not break Princess Caroline’s heart.

    nk (df76d4)

  57. It seems fairly clear to me

    Yes, JD, it’s “clear” to you b/c Steele is a Republican like yourself. If he had a “D” behind his name, it wouldn’t be so clear to you.

    I really hold intellectual inconsistency in a very dim light. Pet peeve of mine. Sorry.

    Steele may be many things, but subtle is not one of them. If he was making the point that some of you claim, he would have said it out right.

    It’s very telling that some people here are trying to defend the race-baiting. I’m saving this thread for when the whining about Dems playing the race card surfaces agains, as it will inevitably in the future. I’m going to call out some folks.

    Myron (e63c20)

  58. 56.One other thing we have overlooked is that Corzine did not break Princess Caroline’s heart.

    Ha. Astute observation, nk. Paterson is perceived to have needlessly jerked her around. Not the smartest thing to do for someone wanting a future in the Democratic Party.

    Myron (e63c20)

  59. “I really hold intellectual inconsistency in a very dim light. Pet peeve of mine.

    Comedy gold. I gotta frame this one.

    SPQR (26be8b)

  60. Yeah Myron paterson jerked around a dim bulb wanna be who proved on camera she could not string together a single coherent sentence.

    Have Blue (854a6e)


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