Is This New York's New Governor?

WHO'S NEXT? Paterson We're hearing a couple of rumors that New York governor Eliot Spitzer has already resigned and his successor been sworn in. We can't verify that quite yet, but it any case, we should probably say hello to Lt. Governor David Paterson, a blind African-American from Harlem. Paterson was born into politics—his father Basil was part of the famed "Harlem Clubhouse" machine that produced such political luminaries as former mayor David Dinkins, Rep. Charlie Rangel, and Percy Sutton, the first African-American Manhattan borough president. Paterson, who was minority leader of the State Senate until Spitzer chose him as his running mate, is viewed as more liberal on some issues than the governor, and during the 2006 campaign there were some visible strains between the two. There's no real indication as to how a Governor Paterson might run things, but one thing is clear; Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is having the best day of his life right now.