"We're not in the post-racial period," Paterson said in a freewheeling interview on the liberal talk-radio station WWRL. "My feeling is it's being orchestrated, it's a game, and people who pay attention know that."
Paterson has come under pressure to bow out of next year's election from labor groups and others who worry his historically low popularity could jeopardize the party's fortunes statewide.

The most formidable potential rival, state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, outperforms Paterson in polls even among black voters.