Paterson concedes he never wanted to become governor

Less than a week after the Obama administration reportedly conveyed a message to Gov. David Paterson to suspend his election campaign, New York's embattled governor conceded he had no intentions to become the state's chief executive.

Circumstances obviously dictated otherwise, but Paterson made the confession at an Associated Press luncheon yesterday in Syracuse. The New York Times reported Paterson said he decided to run for lieutenant governor in 2006 based on his hope then-U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton would have become president and then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer would have appointed him as her successor. Paterson's desire obviously did not become reality. And Spitzer's March 2008 resignation catapulted Paterson into New York's governorship.

The governor made his comments less than three days after Obama delivered a speech in Troy. New York-based pundits and others were quick to opine the obviously awkward moment--and the president's apparent overtures to state Attorney General and presumptive 2010 gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo.

New York First Lady Michelle Paige Paterson criticized the White House's intervention in a series of interviews with local television stations and newspapers, but her husband's comments simply stoke growing sentiment Paterson should step aside.