Cuomo Slips 13 Points In Marist Poll: Recuses Himself From Paterson Investigation

The longer New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo waited to recuse himself from an investigation of Governor David Paterson, the more rapid he dropped in the polls, according to a Marist College poll.

So he finally recused himself, handing off the investigation to retired New York Court of Appeals Chief Justice Judith Kaye.

Inside baseball?  It's not fair to say Cuomo played it safe by saying Kaye was appointed and then elevated by his father when he was governor.  He appointed a woman to oversee the investigation -- and an Albany insider who knows where all the bodies are buried.  It makes sense.

The New York Daily News blog Daily Politics reported how Cuomo's decision to recuse himself was articulated and planned ever so carefully, as to ensure the public's confidence in the investigation.

Cuomo stepped lightly.  He had to ...

But the damage of the past week seems to have crept more upon Andrew Cuomo than David Paterson.

Paterson was expected to be gone by Monday, some openly saying it would happen without a press conference.  Instead, Paterson is playing a game of survivor -- one that may undoubtedly find him led out of the Executive Chamber in shackles -- but 68% of New Yorkers in the same Marist Poll say the embattled governor should stick it out.

"Why do voters think the way they do about Paterson’s future?  Of those voters who think the governor should stay in office, 40% say the public doesn’t have all the facts to prove he’s guilty.  20% think his resignation would do more harm than good for the state, 14% report he’s doing a good job under the circumstances, and 13% think Paterson has a responsibility to fulfill his commitment.   An additional 13% believe he should stay in office because there isn’t that much time left to his term."

Cuomo took a hit, 13 percent.

"Has New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo’s job approval rating suffered from his role in the Paterson investigation?  The short answer is, “Yes.”  Cuomo’s approval rating has dropped 13 percentage points since Marist last asked this question prior to Governor Paterson ending his candidacy for election.  54% of voters currently say Cuomo is doing either an excellent or good job in office.  31% now believe he is performing fairly well, and 8% think he is missing the mark.  7% are unsure."

It had been 67% a week ago.

Comments

[Quickjustice]

From Urban Elephants:

Scrambling to sidestep the backlash from the Harlem political community, Cuomo now assigns responsibility to Democratic former Chief Judge Judith Kaye to make, in her words, a "full fair and independent accounting of the facts".

Excuse me, but hasn't the State Ethics Commission already made such an "accounting" as to the allegations about the free World Series tickets? And Governor Paterson doesn't deny the facts of his, and the State Police, contacts with the woman who is the alleged victim of abuse at the hands of a senior Paterson staffer, does he? So what additional "accounting" by Judge Kaye is necessary here? Isn't the only remaining prosecutorial task to present the current facts to a grand jury? Isn't it the job of a grand jury to determine whether "reasonable cause" exists to believe that crimes were committed by Governor Paterson?

With due respect to Judge Kaye, isn't handing her a meaningless task an insult to her? Isn't this a shell game designed to distract from Cuomo's own involvement in the downfall of Governor Paterson? And doesn't this shell game serve only two purposes, both of them political? First, it delays presentment of the case against Governor Paterson to a grand jury. Second, it keeps the timing of any grand jury action against Paterson under Cuomo's control, ideally until after election day. To avoid indictment, Paterson has every incentive not to upset the apple cart for Cuomo, as do his allies in Harlem.