"I kind of feel like the student who's getting ready for the final exam but they didn't attend any classes,"
David Paterson, New York's Lt. Governor, said over the radio this morning.
He's due to take over the state's top job on Monday after his boss,
Eliot Spitzer, has resigned in disgrace, leaving behind a paralyzed state capitol and growing budget crisis.
Paterson has admitted that when it comes to the budget issue, he's more or less in the dark. Mostly though, he feels that it's going to be his job to coordinate those who know more about this than he does and to restore the sense of comity that
Spitzer was so effective at destroying.
State Sen. Burno, the Majority Leader who has conflicted with
Spitzer's administration, has said he looks forward to working with
Paterson.
Spitzer came to
Albany promising to break the gridlock that has notoriously plagued New York politics. Ironically, it looks as though it could be his resignation might be the catalyst for just that kind of change.