Governor Paterson and Mayor Bloomberg reacted to Fredric Dicker's anonymously sourced column in the Post yesterday — which claimed that Paterson called Bloomberg "nasty" and tantrum-prone, among other things — like a couple of Hollywood starlets. Bloomberg claimed that as far as he was aware, he and the governor had always gotten along on set. "I don't think David Paterson and I have ever exchanged a cross word," he said. "He is as likable and easygoing and as nice a guy as you would ever want to meet." Meanwhile Paterson, ever honest, didn't so much deny smack-talking the mayor as that particular smack talk. "There are a lot of people who say they are friends of yours who will goad you into fights with people because they are having problems with the people," he explained. "So I'm not saying that Fred's quote is inaccurate, I'm just saying that whoever said it to him did not tell him what I actually said," he said.

The report "is just so laughable," Bloomberg added. "I don't know where the stuff came from."

Well. You know who doesn't enjoy being laughed at?

Fredric U. Dicker, that's who. And so, Bloomberg, he's going to tell you where it came from: "The Post's report was based on a source 'with firsthand knowledge of Paterson's comments,'" Dicker fumed in his column this morning, which may be his most insane ever — you know when you are angry at someone and you yell at them in your head? It's like that. Only it wasn't in Dicker's head, it was in the paper:

Let's see, how many people could that be? Paterson himself? Perhaps Michelle Paterson, the governor's wife, or Charles O'Byrne, the governor's chief of staff? Another possibility is Communications Director Risa Heller.

Huh. Does it count as revealing a source if you present it in multiple-choice format? We're not sure, but we can tell this is going to get even better. It's like Gossip Girl! Only, you know, with old dudes instead of hot young girls.

Paterson's Alleged Remarks Stir Albany [NYS]
TELL THE TRUTH GOV[NYP]
Earlier: Bloomberg and Paterson: The Claws Come Out