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In 2007, the best case scenario for Lt. Gov. David Paterson was to pay his dues serving as Gov. Eliot Spitzer's second chair until Sen. Hillary Clinton won the presidency. Then, Paterson could take her place in the U.S. Senate. But thanks to the twists and turns of destiny, Paterson finds himself the governor of an Empire State that's on the brink of insolvency. The lifelong liberal remains low in the polls even as he prepares to campaign for a full term on a platform of unprecedented austerity. WNYC Political Reporter Bob Hennelly recently spent the day camped out at Paterson's midtown office and has this reporter’s notebook.

To hear the extended interview and see Hennelly's photos, visit theNews blog.

REPORTER: 633 Third Avenue on a bitter December day. Gov. Paterson's staffers prepare for his arrival outside the building. Paterson's legally blind so staffers have to be extra attentive.

Things the sighted world takes for granted, like traversing a busy lobby, can be high risk for the blind.

PATERSON: I have two fears: revolving doors and buffet lines. I’m not afraid of anything else in life.

REPORTER: So revolving doors means you’ll never be a lobbyist after you finish this?

PATERSON: Right, exactly. That's pretty good.

REPORTER: Up almost 40 stories, Paterson's office has a panoramic view of the city.

PATERSON: Let’s sit close together. Proximity is everything.

REPORTER: When does your day usually start?

PATERSON: I begin my day around 6:30 or 7:00 o'clock, memorizing material that I will be using in public addresses -- doing a number of radio interviews, talking about the clips that are in the newspaper.

REPORTER: And when does your day end?

PATERSON: Sometimes it feels like it never does, but it is after 11 p.m.

REPORTER: How do you maintain life/work balance? This is something a lot of New Yorkers have to deal with.

PATERSON: Well I think a lot of parents have this problem. Our son finishes school around 2:45 - 3:00 o'clock in the afternoon. And he doesn't see another adult sometimes until 9 or 10 o'clock at night because both my wife and I separately have evening schedules. I can't give anyone advice on the subject because it's something that we have not always gotten completely right.

REPORTER: We will be seeing you today. We will be around.

REPORTER: On any given day Paterson has a packed calendar with private meetings and conferences and he maintains an ambitious public schedule all over the state. One minute the reception area is filled with a delegation of Tribal Chiefs from New York's Native American communities. The next, advocates for Charter Schools. On this day he’ll sign the landmark Independent Public Authorities Reform bill -- something good government groups and legislators like Assemblyman Richard Brodsky have been pushing for a decade. Always present, no matter how wonky the topic: Paterson's self-effacing humor.

PATERSON: Today we are finally going to find some real and responsible reform for public authorities so that Assemblyman Brodsky can die in peace. (laughter) Hopefully a long time from now. No, but the rest of his life is going to be lot easier after today.

REPORTER: Ever since the state's high court ruled in favor of Paterson being able to appoint Richard Ravitch as his lieutenant governor, the tide has shifted a little bit in his favor. Just recently, Paterson managed to shepherd through the legislature a long-stalled major public pension reform bill that will save the state tens of billions of dollars. He says the Independent Authorities Reform bill, signed into law on his watch, was long overdue.

PATERSON: The MTA was a good example when they had two separate books. Also, the sale of parts of the Erie Canal that was listed on page 175 of something called the New York Reporter and nobody saw it. I don't know what year that was?

BRODSKY: 2004.

PATERSON: I think it was 2004.

REPORTER: Paterson's the first to concede he made some mistakes early in his governorship. He’s still glad he stunned the media with up front admissions of marital infidelities and drug use. But he regrets how he handled Caroline Kennedy’s furtive bid for the U.S. Senate. And that New York Times front-page story sourced by anonymous sources about the Obama White House wanting to throw him under the bus still irks him because he says it was flat-out false.

PATERSON: It bothered me a lot because it wasn't true. And even the congressman who was confirmed by White House sources to have told me that they didn't want me to run said on the record that he never asked me not to run, nor did they ask him to do it. So it struck me as kind of a hit job.

REPORTER: What's the biggest surprise to you now that you've had this job for awhile?

PATERSON: I have already remarked to Gov. Cuomo and Gov. Pataki how much I would like to apologize for some of the critiques I made of them, never realizing that they have to balance a budget. They had to make sure that the cash in the state is on hand to pay our deficits. The idea that you are telling people that we are out of money -- people react like they don't even believe you. But they kind of do believe you and they know it has to be done. It is just that what has to be done is hard.

REPORTER: As someone who came up as a state legislator, the work you do is very much related to people's individual circumstances. As a person how can you handle knowing that there is so much need out there?

PATERSON: Internally it is killing me. Legislation that I sponsored to bring $50 million to help victims of lead poisoning, young people in older apartments with lead still in the paint. It was legislation I introduced with an Assemblyman in 2004 and 2008. I actually saw it pass and than vetoed it because we did not have the money to pay for the program. And I got a dressing down from my friend and colleague and he really let me have it over vetoing that bill. But I told them if I make an exception for a bill that I sponsored some years ago then I will not be able to govern with the integrity that I need to make the drastic cuts at this time. These are programs that I fought for for over 20 years. The difference now is that we are about to go into insolvency as a state. But I'm hoping that the public will see that these tough choices had to be made, kind of like the choices parents who are in indigent homes need to make during the holidays when the choice can come down to toys for Christmas or paying the mortgage or paying the rent, so that in January the family has a place to live.

REPORTER: The governor's loyal staff is transforming the public event room from the bill signing tableau to a greeting space. The governor will congratulate dozens of students from Brooklyn's Edward R. Murrow High School who have for the tenth year in a row won the state chess championship. Before the governor arrives, the chess team coach approaches a staffer and asks him if Paterson will play chess with him as part of the photo-op. The coach is told there are two problems: The staffer doesn't know if Paterson plays chess, or if he has enough vision to see the board. It’s a tad tense as the governor comes in the door.

PATERSON: I want to congratulate all the chess champions. Where would you like me to sit?

REPORTER: Much to the delight of the kids and the relief of his staff, the governor knows his way around a chess board. But several moves later, he concedes the match.

PATERSON: That's it, I am out of here. I did not see that coming...literally! (laughter)

REPORTER: You surprised your staff. They weren't clear if you did play chess. There was much hubbub. The guy who was the coach was saying none of the other politicians played chess.

PATERSON: I can play pretty well. Actually, that was just my way of stopping. I could have taken that piece back and it did disrupt my defense. But the game wasn't really over.

REPORTER: In chess, politics, and life, timing is everything. Who knows, by the time the 2010 campaign for governor gets going, the rumor that Paterson isn't the White House's first choice might be a selling point with voters. After all, the White House blessing isn't magic, just ask outgoing New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine.