Pataki’s future

George Pataki’s reception in the North Country has always been mixed. In the past, conservatives distrusted him for his big-spending and his environmentalism.

Moderates adored him — until last week, when he threw one of their own, Dede Scozzafava, under the…well, you know the rest.

Now both camps view him with deep suspicion. What were Pataki’s motives for abandoning Scozzafava — the GOP’s hand-picked candidate — when the chips were down?

A Senate run perhaps? Not according to ABC News.

Former New York Gov. George Pataki (R) is being urged by major Republican donors and the party apparatus in Washington to run against Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D) in 2010. While he has not made a final decision on a Senate run, Pataki has told at least one major GOP donor in private that he is not interested in becoming a senator at the age of 64 and would rather run for president in 2012.

So what do you think? A lot of Conservative Party-Tea Partiers likely to support Pataki over Palin?