Patterson has little support within his party right now. If that can change he might be able to dissuade those who might mount a challenge against him. As the unelected governor he’s not the strongest position. Additionally, the party can blame him for whatever goes wrong in the next year. (given the current situation much will go wrong) He’ll become the sacrificial lamb so the Democrats don’t have to run on the record.

Given the turnover of governors in November’s elections I see this as the most likely scenario. In reality, this has little to do with Patterson’s skills as an executive. It can be compared to Hoover, who recieved a reputation for incomptence as a result of economic conditions that were beyond his ability to control. FDR wasn’t elected because he promised radical changes. In fact, the Democratic platform of 1932 was fiscally a conservative one. Voters, however, wanted someone else at the helm of the ship.

I still stand by that article, but that doesn’t mean cuts shouldn’t be made. My point was that a disproportionate amount of funding is dropped from education in comparison to other sectors. There has already been severe cuts. In the end, if that’s what’s needed to balance the budget – fine. But at this point, any more cuts to education should be a last resort.

Lisanne: Paterson may walk away with the nomination yet. True, a lot of people don’t like him. And his faltering in the summer and early fall was truly embarrassing. He needs to reign in the Senate and get these guys to work, instead of this nonsense going on now. BUT, I think in the past few weeks he’s been starting to prove himself again. Was the license plate idea stupid? Hell yes. But I think he was trying to get people’s attention – and he got it. Now he’s at last pressuring the Senate, and in demanding that they balance the budget or he will, he’s proving that he can make hard, unpopular decisions… and take all the blame for them. That’s leadership.

In the next few weeks, there will either be bankruptcy or major cuts. The gov will take a lot of heat no matter what happens. But if we avoid bankruptcy, he deserves some credit. Maybe voters and his party will see that. Maybe not.