Sure, some of the things David Paterson's aides do to help the blind governor cope with his new job sound legitimate: They help him identify people and leave memos for him in voice mail, and his bodyguards help to steer him around. But what quickly becomes clear as you read the Times story today is that his blind thing is also a total racket.

At the Executive Mansion, staff members have been trying to keep up with the needs of their new boss. They were instructed shortly after he moved in last month to watch the level of his drink during receptions and offer him a refill if it looked too low.

We love that. "Fetch me a cocktail; I can't see the bar." Good one! We can only imagine the other stuff he gets away with. "Rub my feet — they're too far away, I can't see them." Or: "Would you mind just popping over to the deli and getting me a carton of Chunky Monkey? You know, because I can't see the flavors." Brilliant. “He can pick up a phony faster than somebody who has sight,” Assemblyman Keith L.T. Wright tells the Times. Mmm-hmm. We bet you can, Paterson, you sly devil.

A Blind Governor Adjusts, and So Does Albany [NYT]