The incredible shrinking David Paterson

Today not so much. 

With the Empire State in deep debt and the legislature in turmoil, the new governor has reached new lows in public approval as voters blame him for his own mistakes and those he inherited.

Paterson had ascended to the governorship almost by accident after former Gov. Eliot Spitzer was caught in a sordid sex scandal with a Washington, D.C. call girl. It was a stunning fall from grace for Spitzer, the former prosecutor brought down after spending years developing a reputation as a tough but clean good government type.

But Paterson seemed to be just what the state was looking for to replace Spitzer. Not too flashy and bearing a healthy dose of humility, the new governor offered a sense of stability at a time of crisis.

Then came the announcement that stunned the state, days after he arrived in the spotlight. With his wife by his side, Paterson spoke to the press and admitted to adultery and past drug use. It was the type of announcement that politicians typically make when they are being pressured to resign, or when they vow to fight on against their enemies.

But for Paterson, there was little fallout from the revelations. New Yorkers essentially shrugged it off, a bit surprised but hardly willing to throw the new governor overboard. In fact, many New Yorkers were impressed by his candor in confessing his "sins" upfront instead of being caught with his pants down.

He won over New Yorkers by memorizing his speeches, reaching out to Republicans and saving the Democrats from four more years in political oblivion in the largely Democratic state. If nothing else, he was not Eliot Spitzer, the disgraced former governor, and not George Pataki, the former Republican governor.

In the end, Paterson's folksy appeal may have contained the seeds of his fall. Intentionally or otherwise, he positioned himself as a good natured, self-effacing politician in a place that is accustomed to larger than life public figures. Businessmen like Donald Trump and George Steinbrenner have reigned alongside politicians like Ed Koch, Mario Cuomo and Rudy Giuliani. Even civil rights activists like the Rev. Al Sharpton are larger than life in New York.

Humility is not a strong suit for public figures in the Empire State. It's the state where Sean "Diddy" Combs maintains a gigantic billboard image of himself in New York City's Times Square. And New York's subway-riding Mayor Mike Bloomberg incidentally owns a billion dollar media empire.

The state is also home to another superstar, Hillary Clinton.

Paterson's leadership may have begun to unravel with the long drawn out process of selecting a replacement for former Senator Clinton when she was appointed by President Obama to become Secretary of State. Would Paterson choose Caroline Kennedy? Would he choose a black candidate? Would he make any decision in time to prevent the wave of speculation from overcoming the goodwill he had built up in his governorship?

When the real governor announced a little known Kirsten Gillibrand as his choice, some were dumbfounded. And from there it was all down hill. The same man who won praise from the gay and lesbian community for announcing that the state would recognize same-sex marriages performed in other states then seemed to waffle on whether he would push the legislature to take up the issue before the end of its session, leaving Paterson's LGBT supporters confused.

When two Democratic state senators defected to the GOP and orchestrated a coup that gave Republicans control of the Senate, Paterson could do nothing to stop the turmoil in Albany. He later said he would force the legislature to meet to resolve unfinished business, but the governor's office acknowledged he did not have the power to compel the legislature to vote.

By June 2009, it was no surprise to observers that Paterson's approval rating had reached rock bottom. The governor who promised a refreshing start will, almost certainly, find himself facing a primary challenge when he runs for re-election. 

The most likely candidate seems to be New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, the son of the former governor. 

Where Paterson goes from here, New Yorkers are waiting to see.