First came the rumors of an upcoming bombshell, then New York Times editors acting coy about it, then their first story which was a hit job not on Gov. Paterson but on his aide David Johnson, then the hostile profile on Paterson, after all of which the general consensus, even from a mostly anti-Paterson media, was that there wasn't much there there. But now the Times has delivered the real expose, again focusing on Johnson but this time linking Paterson to him in what could be seen as an attempted cover-up of domestic violence. This has forced the governor to suspend Johnson and ask Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to investigate. It all recalls Troopergate, which also involved Cuomo investigating state police, and also the end of Eliot Spitzer's gubernatorial career, which was the work of federal prosecutors but was revealed to the public by the Times.
I don't know if the sequence of stories shows the Times was setting Paterson up, or if he dug himself into this hole. But as someone who has defended Paterson here against the Times and other media coverage, I am constrained to admit this does not reflect well on him and is potentially very damaging.
Sadly I have to agree with your last sentence. I admire the policy decisions Paterson has tried to push through but the politicization of law enforcement is something I have no tolerance for.
Posted by: Brian | February 25, 2010 at 12:36 PM