Paterson Refuses to 'Speculate on the Speculation,' But Won't Appoint Himself to Senate

ALBANY—David Paterson said he would not appoint himself to the Senate should Hillary Clinton resign her seat to take an Obama cabinet post.

"I'm not going to speculate on the speculation on that situation, but what is not under speculation is that I am the governor of the state of New York, and I want to run for re-election as governor in 2010, and we have a very difficult economic situation that was further complicated by a change in our executive branch earlier this year," he said on a conference call with reporters earlier today.

He said this year's budget was a particular challenge because of economic woes and because it was drawn up in the wake of Eliot Spitzer's resignation.

"While I'm very happy about that outcome, I wouldn't want to put the state through that again. I'm very happy being governor. I signed up for that possibility when I signed up to be lieutenant governor."

There are still plenty of potential candidates for Hillary's seat, with Paterson holding the right to make an appointment.