[OP-ED]
The Atma of Politics
Stay Out Mr. President!: How Much of A Role Should The White House Play in State Politics?

President Barak Obama and NY Governor David Patterson.

In recent weeks we have witnessed a very interesting and peculiar interaction, which we don’t often find; the weighing in of the White House on the potential political viability of a candidate for state office, namely New York’s governor’s office. The situation becomes all the more rare when we are talking about the White House voicing its opinion on the viability of the incumbent. However, this is exactly what seems to have occurred between the Obama administration and NY Governor David Patterson.

As Governor Patterson gets ready to launch his campaign to run for election in the 2010 gubernatorial race many White House officials have been suggesting to him that his running for governor may not be in the best interest of the Democratic Party, The State of New York, or Governor Patterson himself. The White House has suggested that Mr. Patterson is not only unelectable but a serious liability to the party and potentially a federal agenda if the Republican Party sees him as an easy target for a challenger, like former mayor Rudy Giuliani. However, Mr. Patterson, in response, has stated that he intends to disregard the suggestion to step out of the gubernatorial race and that he will be running in 2010.

The opinion of the Administration and fears of Mr. Patterson’s abilities to win an election are not isolated. Word has spread on many levels that within NY several politicians, party officials and labor groups have voiced their concern, if not carefully that Mr. Patterson’s prospects of winning the Governor’s race 2010 are slim given his historically low approval ratings and a series of political setbacks that have been connected to him in recent months. But no one from the state has been so forthright in publicly requesting Mr. Patterson not run for election like the Obama administration has done.

Interestingly, there is a striking philosophical question to be answered from this: Should the Obama administration be publicly voicing its opinion, quite vocally for that matter, on such a local issue? Obviously, there are at least two sides to the answer to this question. The right answer really depends on which side you feel most politically and ideologically in tune with.

First, there is Governor Mr. Patterson’s perspective and to some degree the perspective of other local politicians and people of New York who just don’t believe that the White House has any business getting so heavily involved in local politics. Mr. Paterson believes that he has continually done what he thought has been best for New York and he genuinely considers himself ready to continue the stewardship of New York which he inherited from Eliot Spitzer after the scandal that forced Mr. Spitzer to resign and which elevated Mr. Patterson to the state’s highest position. Mr. Mr. Patterson, who acknowledges that poll numbers for him may not be great, points out that approval ratings for governors across the nation are at a low point. Moreover, Governor Mr. Patterson asserts his position that the White House should really stay out of local politics and there are those who agree with him.

In interview after interview there have been several other politicians whom, whether they thought Mr. Patterson had a chance of winning or not, believe that the decision of the candidate to run for office is the candidate’s own, in consultation with his or her respective state party offic i a l s . Fur t h e r more, some officials have suggested s e l f - s e r v i n g worries that if the White House can legitimately offer its opinion in a persuasive manner for gubernatorial election then what stops the Administration from stepping on their “toes” for other elections as well?

There are also those ordinary everyday citizens who just do not feel comfortable with the federal government stepping into state matters such as the present case. They believe that the Obama administration is overreaching and abusing its power. Needless to say the White House’s recent actions have been met with some disdain.

On the other hand, there is the Administration’s position. There is a clear interest by the Obama administration and the Democratic Party as to who is governor of New York. Firstly, if a candidate considered weak is running then a Republican challenger may have a much better opportunity to unseat or beat the Democrat, which in turn will hurt the Administration and the Party in moving forward with its political agenda. Secondly, the White House has an interest in furthering its agenda by having a governor who is in tune with the people of his or her home state so that when issues come up on a federal level, like health care or economic reforms, governors can act as surrogates for the Administration to help push those plans.

As you can see, there are many different points of view on this very contentious issue. The question for us to decide is whether the Head of State has a right to and should be telling Governor Paterson not to exercise his right to run for office. This is the Atma of Politics!

Dev B. Viswanath is a practicing attorney who is currently hosting a weekly political show called Desis & Politics which airs on Saturdays at 8:30 am and repeated on Sundays at 10 pm on ITV/ITVGOLD in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut on Time Warner Cable (Channel 77 or 563) and Cablevision (Channel 544). You can also watch previously aired programs at www.itvonweb.com . Please feel free to email Dev with your comments or suggestions at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

[ BY DEV B. VISWANATH ]