The silence has been broken.
For the first time, Gov. David Paterson confessed he instructed his staff to challenge Caroline Kennedy’s story after she abruptly withdrew her senate bid in late January, according to the New York Times.
But he didn’t mean for it to get out of hand. Paterson said he did not order his staff to unleash the torrent of personal attacks on Kennedy that followed.
“The things said about Caroline I found despicable and shocking and very painful,” Paterson told the New York Times, adding, “I never would have imagined removing the idea that this is my first choice meant a character assassination.”
Kennedy’s 11th-hour withdrawal – and the circus-like uncertainty that preceded its finality – embarrassed the governor in such a way that his reputation may never fully recover.
When speculation arose that Kennedy might be dropping out because Paterson wasn’t going to pick her, Caroline asserted herself as his first choice and cited “personal reasons” for bowing out. People close to Paterson were concerned that anyone he did pick would look like a second choice at that point, which set off a deluge off “anonymous” tips from the administration about tax, nanny and marital issues that allegedly derailed Caroline’s senate bid.
And so the war began.
Democrats across the country – including members of the Kennedy family – were up in arms. Paterson’s poll numbers plummeted; questions about his competency endure.
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Paterson had previously denied having any role in the leaks and rumors about Kennedy, but in his interview with the Times, he was adamant about one point.
“Let’s try to point out that we’re not indicating that anybody is the No. 1,” Paterson said to his staff after Kennedy withdrew, according to the paper. He emphasized his only objective was to refute Kennedy’s statement that she was his choice.
“I understood we’d be pushing back for that,” Paterson told the Times, adding, “How that turned into what happened is something I have to take responsibility for.”
