The awkward half-hug between President Barack Obama and embattled New York Governor David Paterson at Albany Airport in Troy, New York 10 days ago could be described a Rorschach test of sorts.

Depending on your perspective, either Obama was attempting to console the beleaguered governor whose approval ratings are hovering around 20 percent, or he was giving Paterson a very public kiss of death.

Late last month, it was leaked to the media that the White House had indirectly asked Paterson to drop what many within the Democratic Party characterize as his ill-fated bid for election to a full term as New York’s governor.

“Obama Requests That Paterson Drop Campaign,” was the headline in the New York Times on Sunday, Sept. 20, the day before the Troy photo-op.

Paterson seemed evasive when "Meet the Press" moderator David Gregory asked him last week about the president’s alleged request.

“I’ve had confidential conversations with the White House, and I’m not going to reveal what those conversations were, other than to tell you that the president has never told me not to run for governor,” Paterson told Gregory.

“All right, but let’s be very clear here about what happened,” Gregory probed further. “The president’s team and others speaking on their behalf said to you, you should not run. Isn’t that right?

“I can’t say that, David,” Paterson replied. “There are people who’ve told me not to run. There are a lot of people … who have told me not to run.”

However, Paterson — some say defiantly — declared his intent to run for governor during his appearance at the 40th annual African American Day Parade in Harlem on Sept. 20th, a stance he reiterated during his interview with Gregory.

“David, the White House has a country to run, and I have a state to run. And there’s politics that go on all the time,” he told Gregory. “I’m blind, but I’m not oblivious.”

But several questions have arisen connected to Paterson’s predicament in New York. Ultimately, should President Obama have inserted himself at all into the New York governor’s race?

“President Obama is president of the United States and the head of the Democratic Party. He should provide guidance to important matters of the Democratic Party,” said Larry S. Gibson, professor of law at the University of Maryland and a veteran international political strategist.

“The governor of New York is extremely important. With the upcoming 2010 Census, there will be a reapportionment, and governors play a major role in reapportionment,” added Gibson, who was the architect of the strategies which made former Baltimore Mayor Kurt Schmoke the city’s first elected black mayor and Helen Johnson Sirleaf the first woman president of Liberia.

“Matters affecting the state of New York aren’t just local matters," he said. "They affect the entire country.”

However, others argue New York politics should be left to New Yorkers to decide.

“I had misgivings about him being involved with that,” said Marvin “Doc” Cheatham, president of the Baltimore branch of the NAACP. “The indication is that Paterson may have a very difficult time being elected, but I thought the president should have stayed out of it."

"I think (Obama) wants to appease some folks … I think sometimes it’s best to say nothing at all,” Cheatham added, perhaps cryptically alluding to the issue of race, which is no stranger to New York politics in particular.

Patterson has suggested in the past that some of the criticism directed at him could be racially based, but he seemed to walk that sentiment back a bit during his interview with Gregory.

“What I think is that we should assess all governors, no matter what color they are, by how they .....

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Patterson showed he was a looser when he immediately started putting his family's personal lives out front in such salacious ways. He has done little to endure himself to the citizens of the great state of New York. The only time attention is directed toward the State is when Patterson does something to embarrass the State.

by   
Qospades
October 1, 2009, 1:50 pm
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DO YOU Guys think OBAMA can save ROME i dont think so; do u think any republican can save ROME (Nope) Money has corrupted this country every body is lobbying for this and tht and nobody can change this country.. So all i can tell u is take care you rlife and your kids and Have Faith!!!.. (YOU JUST BEEN MILKED)

by   
Milkkman
October 1, 2009, 12:07 pm
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Republicans are Garbage, democrats or whimps and we all know what a republican administration can give u not a damn thing but alot of FEAR and name calling.. I dont care about patterson he a done deal anyway regardless..Obama u got elected the wrong time this country been broken and u not gone fix it no repbuilcan have any solutions but oh I forGOT > KEEP TAXES LOW(can u come up with another phrase)

by   
Milkkman
October 1, 2009, 11:53 am
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How about the White House with its resident Loser, Obama, get with the times? I have a question: How come Obama issued a statement on that Harvard Professor, but had nothing to say about Derrion Albert, the kid murdered on video a few days ago in Chicago? At the current rate I have lost hope for the Democratic Party helping black America, and have come to the realization that the majority of black people who vote Democrat do it purely because they cant handle the truth that Republican ideals are what create a strong unified society. Vote Huckabee 2012

by   
REAL_Change_is_Needed
October 1, 2009, 10:56 am
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Afraid another 16 years of Obamas....

by   
Elchar
October 1, 2009, 8:43 am
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None of Obamas initiatives are working, so he has his own problems to deal with.

by   
Uncletom
October 1, 2009, 7:55 am
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It is only POLITICS. The President has every right to get involve individial state politics. As head of the democratic party, it is in his best interest to oversee what is best for the party. By every indication Gov. Patterson does not have the support of New Yorkers to run a successful campaingn. Give it up Governor.

by   
Ljplacide
October 1, 2009, 7:51 am
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The White House should not STAY out of Patterson’s way because he cannot seem to GET out of his own way. This guy submitted a budget that found 85 new ways to tax citizens. His approval rating is actually 17%. A recent NY Times poll says 70% of NYS residents feel that he should not run. Why would a man defiantly declare that he WILL run given that backdrop? The answer is Charley Rangel who is very close friends with Patterson’s papa. Patterson’s family is loaded. With the Chairman of the House Ways & Means (which means the ability to raise BIG money) backing it gives him blind arrogance.

by   
Drwill911
October 1, 2009, 6:02 am
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