"I think that would be pretty interesting," Paterson told John Gambling on WOR, when asked about the prospect of serving as governor over a man to whom he once served as lieutenant governor.  "But I would say, honestly, the type of way that former Governor Spitzer managed would be most useful these days in the finance area rather than in law enforcement."

The Post reported this morning that Spitzer is "seriously thinking about" a 2010 run for the office. The current comptroller, Tom DiNapoli, is perceived as politically weak.

"Our biggest problems here are, and our current comptroller has handled this pretty well, warning the legislature," Paterson said. Spitzer might be well-suited to the task, Paterson suggested.

He then segued into his fiscal toughness, bash the legislature message.