Paterson faces political demise after latest scandal

The vise closes some more, and Gov. David A. Paterson faces political demise.

A former longtime Paterson ally reflected on the damaging reports that the governor directed others to contact the woman accusing Paterson aide David W. Johnson of domestic abuse.

An ex-ally, who did not want to be identified, said: "I think what's going to happen is, as you get more and more depositions, it will get worse and worse . . . "

"Knowing David," the person said, "he would wait to the last possible moment" to quit. "I don't see how he can stay on."

Word from the governor's mansion in Albany Tuesday was more hopeful, however, as Paterson sought to defend his actions in private discussions with other Democrats.

But planet Albany seems to get more bizarre by the hour.

Here is Andrew Cuomo, a Democratic attorney general - widely seen as front-runner for the top spot - investigating the Democratic governor who just dropped out of the primary.

Timing has become the topic of speculation with a statewide campaign brewing. Some estimates already have put the duration of Cuomo's probe at four weeks. But what time frame can be precise given the business at hand?

By all accounts the attorney general's office already has interviewed key figures, including Harry Corbitt, the State Police superintendent who announced Tuesday night that he is stepping down.

Rick Lazio, the Republican candidate for governor, calls it "one of the potential conflicts" with this situation - and urged that Cuomo step aside for an independent probe, perhaps by a special prosecutor.

In one TV appearance Lazio went so far as to call Cuomo's involvement "absurd."

But if you really want absurd, consider the lead-up to this episode.

When Paterson took office nearly two years ago, he expressed suspicion that a political "rogue unit" existed in the State Police - and then, too, asked Cuomo to investigate.

Just last September, after an 18-month probe with outside help, Cuomo said he found "troubling politicization of certain actions and decisions that occurred at highest levels of the State Police."

Paterson requested that probe after the man who made him governor, Eliot Spitzer, became bogged down over his own use of state troopers.

The arc of this is amazing.

More amazing yet, the subject is domestic abuse - the very issue that just caused the first expulsion of a state senator in anyone's memory.

From what we know so far, threads of every frenzied political scandal seem to run through this narrative.

How public figures so easily make the mistake of treating public resources as their own.

How an executive can invest too much trust in friends and flatterers in an inner circle.

How the cover-up can cause more damage than the original offense.

How rising beyond one's skills can leave the top official alone and vulnerable.

If the appointed lieutenant governor, Richard Ravitch, has sense, he'll make plans - just in case - for a quick inauguration followed by a short speech.