Fade to Black: Paterson Getting Trounced in Polls

Oh wait, am I allowed to use the word black in a headline when discussing a black man? Or is that racist? Just don't need man of peace Al Sharpton and the NAACP boycotting this blog. Anyway, more bad news for the Accidental Governor.

A second poll yesterday showed Gov. Paterson - under attack for proposed budget cuts and a botched Senate selection process - with record-low approval ratings, and losing badly in a matchup against Rudy Giuliani.

The Siena College poll painted an even gloomier picture for the governor than did a Quinnipiac University survey last week.

The latest poll found Paterson, a Democrat, losing to Giuliani, 51 percent to 36 percent. It was a sharp turnaround from a Jan. 26 poll that found the governor narrowly ahead of the Republican ex-mayor, 44-42 percent, and a December survey that had Paterson leading, 51-38 percent.

Paterson also fared poorly in a hypothetical Democratic primary matchup against state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, losing 53-27 percent.

Cuomo would beat Giuliani, 51-38 percent, in a general-election matchup, the poll found.

A month ago, Paterson led Cuomo, 35-33 percent, and in December, 49-26 percent.

The new poll found that Paterson's personal approval rating has plummeted badly, with 47 percent of voters holding an unfavorable view of the governor. Forty percent gave a favorable rating.

A month ago, Paterson was viewed favorably by 54 percent, compared to just 30 percent who rated him unfavorably.

Frankly, New York is a lost cause if they prefer Cuomo over Rudy Giuliani, a man with much more favorable experience.