Caught between Paterson’s clumsiness and the legislature’s dysfunction

David Paterson is emerging as one of the most enigmatic governors in New York history.

Elevated to power by scandal, he has inherited one of the most catastrophic budget crises in the state’s history.

He has shown real prescience, and political courage, in confronting the implosion of tax revenues that followed the meltdown on Wall Street.

But Paterson has also proved himself largely incapable of wielding the sort of political power in Albany that might salvage the situation.

In an interview with NCPR, he dismissed opponents within his own Democratic Party as “childish” and “ignorant.”

Those might be reasonable criticisms, but they hardly suggest the kind of walk-softly-and-carry-a-big-stick dealmaker’s approach that our legislative system demands.

Meanwhile, Paterson has embraced a series of clumsy and unpopular revenue measures (license plate renewals the most prominent) that only serve to anger voters.

Now he’s asked lawmakers to simply abdicate their constitutional role in the budget process.

Some of this disarray reflects Paterson’s lack of a personal mandate. He is, put bluntly, an accidental governor.

He’s widely seen in Albany as a dead politician walking, his poll numbers in the toilet, with Attorney General Andrew Cuomo waiting impatiently in the wings.

It’s nearly impossible for Paterson to surround himself with the kind of power players that politicians need to get things done.

The best and the brightest (and most influential) Albany operators are unlikely to climb aboard his ship at this late hour.

But for all his missteps and misfires, the Governor still has one thing going for him: He seems to be right.

No one has mounted a convincing argument that he is overreacting or over-estimating the magnitude of the crisis.

And no one has suggested a superior menu of budget options.

One thing is certain. Albany can’t wait until after the 2010 elections to sort this mess out.

Between the rock of a clumsy, unpopular governor and the hard place of our dysfunctional legislature, New York state is walking a narrow and dangerous path.