New Poll: Paterson drops, Gillibrand who?

Ouch! A Quinnipiac University poll out this morning has Governor Paterson taking a 55-23 percent thumping from Attorney General Andrew Cuomo in a possible 2010 gubernatorial primary matchup.

And if Paterson faces off against Rudy Giuliani in the general election,  the Q poll has it as a dead heat, 43-43 percent. On the other hand, if it's Cuomo on the Democratic line, he takes the race handily, 51-37.

If that wasn't enough to send the governor back to bed with the covers over his head, there was this: Paterson's approval rating is just 45-41 percent, his lowest rate in 11 months, down from 50-30 percent less than a month ago.

Part of the reason for those tumbling numbers is that, at a 52-35 percent clip, New Yorkers didn't like the way the Gov handled his selection of a senate replacement for Hillary Clinton, especially those nasty leaks about Caroline Kennedy.

As for Kirsten Gillibrand, the new senator gets 28-10 percent job approval rating, but 62 percent of  voters don't have a clue about her job performance yet.

Matched against Long Island congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, who has vowed to campaign against Gillibrand in 2010 based on her pro-gun positions, Gillibrand goes down 34-24 percent, but 39 percent of voters haven't figured this one out yet.