Blind governor tries to crawl out from under the bus

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Embattled Gov. David Paterson is pulling out all the stops to save his job. He plans to mount a major ad blitz to tell New Yorkers about all the good things he's done for the Empire State.

The election may be over, but the political ads aren't. The governor is now taking to the air waves to convince New Yorkers he deserves to stay in office.

"What it's geared to do is talk about his very good record over the last year, the things he's done for the state, including closing a $35 billion budget," said veteran political consultant Bill Lynch.

The ads, which hit television on Friday, are aimed at improving Paterson's low poll numbers and sending a message to other Democrats, including President Barack Obama, that he is determined to seek another term in office.

"Once people know the things he's done for this state they will start to look at him differently," said Lynch.

Paterson, whose popularity currently hovers in the 20 percent range, was seriously wounded when Obama let it be known he didn't want Paterson to run because Republicans like Rudy Giuliani consistently beat him in the polls. But Obama's recent lack of success in backing local candidates, including New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine, has empowered Paterson.

"The President went to New Jersey five times for Corzine and wasn't able to turn that around, so I think here in New York, New Yorkers know everything is local," said Lynch.

But that's not all Paterson is doing. He's bringing on board campaign powerhouse Harold Ickes, who was former President Bill Clinton's Deputy Chief of Staff.

Will all this help the popularity-challenged governor? At least one lawmaker thinks so.

"I think he's a viable candidate already. He's the governor. Anybody that's the governor is a viable candidate to begin with. I think it can only help make him more viable," said Sen. Bill Perkins (D-Manhattan).

Paterson's political future is hanging in the balance. If the ads are successful they could make popular state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo think twice about a primary challenge. If they're not, it could force him to re-assess his candidacy.