The arrest this week of Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich on charges that he planned to auction off a U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder puts more intense scrutiny on Gov. David Paterson as he mulls his choices to fill the seat that will likely be vacated by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

To be clear, nobody is accusing Paterson of doing anything illegal, or even unethical, in his search for an appointee, but the accusations that Blagojevich blatantly tried to trade a Senate seat for money or power or both underscores the inherent problem with putting that much power in one person's hands.

We still believe that a special election is the most democratic way to fill an empty seat, but short of that, Paterson's choice needs to be one that he can justify to the people of the state as being the best choice for them, not himself.

Unfortunately, Paterson has thus far indicated that he might make a politically correct - or a politically helpful - pick rather than choose someone with an impressive resume.

With the recent chatter being that Caroline Kennedy could potentially be extremely helpful to Paterson should he choose to run for governor in 2010, Paterson, without naming anyone in particular, said that his choice might be someone who offers more hope than history and “greater imagination than experience.”

We can't imagine that a person who possesses only potential can outweigh one with a proven record of accomplishment.

Trying to sell a Senate seat is clearly illegal, but using the opportunity to benefit one's own agenda, if only politically, is nearly as rotten.

New Yorkers deserve a U.S. senator who can effectively fight for their interests in Washington. If Paterson fails to prove that his pick is the best person to do that, then he will have done a great disservice to the people of the state.