Gov. David Paterson just isn't getting any love these days. But at least the fake David Paterson still has Jersey to take it out on.
The embattled governor, who has been mired in controversy surrounding President Barack Obama's nudging to have him abandon a 2010 re-election bid, took another shot last night from "Saturday Night Live" over the whole debacle.
The skit, featured during the show's "Weekend Update" last night (starts at about 3:50 in video below) once again took aim at Paterson's blindness, along with, well, every other aspect of Paterson's bad week
Fred Armisen, playing the part of Paterson, sidled up on a black chair with wheels between hosts Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers. His right eye was squeezed shut as he meandered around until Poehler pushed the governor, who apparently couldn't see where he was going, back to his own side of the desk.
Meyers commented on how rough it's been for the accidental governor.
"They're all rough weeks, Seth, I'm David Paterson," said Armisen. "Becoming governor has been like finding one of those magical monkey paws that grants wishes. I was psyched to get it, but then horrible things started happening right away. "
Paterson was more or less snubbed by Obama this week during the president's trip to upstate New York. On top of the cool reception Obama gave the governor, the president's aides suggested to him he shouldn't run again in 2010, amid fears that flagging poll numbers could hand the governorship -- and control of the Senate and much more -- back to the Republicans.
Do you really think you've got a chance at re-election if you go up against people like Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and former mayor Rudy Giuliani, SNL's Meyers asked?
The fake Paterson was rather gung-ho about his chances.
"Are you kidding? Those cologne-soaked city slickers are never going to connect with the Gumbis in upstate New York," Armisen said. "I dare Andrew Cuomo to show his pretty face in Utica. The locals will just hide in their caves and throw boulders at him."
SNL writers also incorporated some of the governor's alleged anti-Jersey sentiments into the skit, with Armisen ranting about trolls, ugly residents and the state's many bridges.
"You know how to go to hell, Seth?" the governor asked, a strange grin on his face. "You take the Holland Tunnel straight to New Jersey."
Jokes about Paterson's blindness (and more about New Jersey) began coming in earnest when Meyers brought up the governor's aspirations to work on Capitol Hill.
"I had great dreams of living in Washington, D.C., walking zigzag up the Capitol steps, you know, shaking hands with an even mix of humans and statues, trying to stick my ATM card into the Vietnam Memorial, then maybe showing up late to votes and flipping off the senators from New Jersey," Armisen said.
SNL first mocked Paterson late last year during its "Weekend Update." Paterson, who is legally blind, slammed the show for making fun of his disability, calling it “third grade humor” and saying the writers "went too far."
The governor's office could not be reached for comment on the latest SNL skit at Paterson's expense.
