Paterson Won’t Run

After the New York Times broke a story about Paterson’s possible intervention in a domestic abuse case on behalf of one of his aides, the governor of New York has suspended his election campaign. “The announcement came less than a week after Mr. Paterson formally announced his candidacy. The governor acknowledged that the episode involving his longtime aide David W. Johnson had become a distraction, but he vowed to serve out the remaining 308 days of his term and remain focused on his work. ‘There are times in politics when you have to know not to strive for service, but to step back, and that moment has come for me,’ Mr. Paterson told a room full of reporters in an afternoon news conference. In the most dramatic moment, the governor raised his right hand and offered what he called a ‘personal oath,’ stressing that he had not abused his power in his response to the domestic violence case. ‘I have never abused my office, not now, not ever,’ said Mr. Paterson, his wife, Michelle Paige Paterson, by his side. ‘I believe that when the facts are reviewed, the truth will prevail,’ he added. Even as the governor was speaking, however, new calls emerged for him to resign, amid a criminal investigation by the office of Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo. Moments after the governor’s news conference ended, the New York City comptroller, John C. Liu, became the latest fellow Democrat to call for the governor to step down.”