Gov. David Paterson had heard enough. After a couple of weeks worth of intense scrutiny of his private life, the new leader of the state expressed frustration that the questions weren't going away.
“I think that more than any elected official on this planet, and probably in outer space, I have discussed my personal situation over the last week,” he said Wednesday.
Things got started earlier this month when Paterson disclosed that he had cheated on his wife several times during his Albany career, but said the affairs ended in 2002. He later revealed that he had experimented with marijuana and cocaine in the 1970s.
Perhaps the governor thought that by coming out himself with this information, he would be seen as unusually forthright and therefore taken at his word.
But these revelations, particularly the affairs, prompted the Albany press corps to start digging more into the governor's past.
Soon enough, reports about questionable spending both through his campaign and his state credit card emerged. The Times Union appeared to have jumped the gun in one report, saying he used his state credit card on a trip to work on Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign trip, which later turned out to be untrue (the Clinton campaign funded his travel). And so far, all of the expenditures that have been red-flagged by the media appear to have at least been lawful.
Others, though, such as Paterson's habitual use of downtown Albany hotels even though he lives a short drive away from the Capitol, at least raise questions of responsible spending on the part of an elected official.
While the governor's frustration is understandable, it's important to remember that he's been going through in a couple of weeks what most candidates for higher offices - such as governor, U.S. senator or president - experience over the course of an entire campaign.
The question going forward is when will all of this digging into Paterson end? And should it?
I believe there is a balance to be found between the energy media devote to checking into Paterson's past and the effort they put in to following what he's doing now.
It would be irresponsible to have simply accepted the governor's claim that he had had affairs, but never compromised state or campaign laws in doing so. Those are statements that need to be checked out.
But it would also be irresponsible for the media to have ignored the work the governor and the Legislature have been doing right now. From what I read coming out of Albany the past week or so, there was still solid reporting on the budget talks taking place.
On the whole, I'd say the men and women reporting news out of Albany the past couple of weeks have done their jobs well.
Executive editor Jeremy Boyer's columns appear Saturdays in The Citizen and he can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 231 or jeremy.boyer@lee.net
Things got started earlier this month when Paterson disclosed that he had cheated on his wife several times during his Albany career, but said the affairs ended in 2002. He later revealed that he had experimented with marijuana and cocaine in the 1970s.
Perhaps the governor thought that by coming out himself with this information, he would be seen as unusually forthright and therefore taken at his word.
But these revelations, particularly the affairs, prompted the Albany press corps to start digging more into the governor's past.
Soon enough, reports about questionable spending both through his campaign and his state credit card emerged. The Times Union appeared to have jumped the gun in one report, saying he used his state credit card on a trip to work on Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign trip, which later turned out to be untrue (the Clinton campaign funded his travel). And so far, all of the expenditures that have been red-flagged by the media appear to have at least been lawful.
Others, though, such as Paterson's habitual use of downtown Albany hotels even though he lives a short drive away from the Capitol, at least raise questions of responsible spending on the part of an elected official.
While the governor's frustration is understandable, it's important to remember that he's been going through in a couple of weeks what most candidates for higher offices - such as governor, U.S. senator or president - experience over the course of an entire campaign.
The question going forward is when will all of this digging into Paterson end? And should it?
I believe there is a balance to be found between the energy media devote to checking into Paterson's past and the effort they put in to following what he's doing now.
It would be irresponsible to have simply accepted the governor's claim that he had had affairs, but never compromised state or campaign laws in doing so. Those are statements that need to be checked out.
But it would also be irresponsible for the media to have ignored the work the governor and the Legislature have been doing right now. From what I read coming out of Albany the past week or so, there was still solid reporting on the budget talks taking place.
On the whole, I'd say the men and women reporting news out of Albany the past couple of weeks have done their jobs well.
Executive editor Jeremy Boyer's columns appear Saturdays in The Citizen and he can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 231 or jeremy.boyer@lee.net
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