David Paterson on Becoming New York Governor: 'I Think I'll Kill Myself'

Michelle Paterson, wife of accidental governor David Paterson, has plans for a tell-all book about the pair's time in Albany, and her press strategy has already kicked into high-gear before the writing is even complete. (Surprise #1: It includes slamming the press!) Cindy Adams at the New York Post has some teasers, including Michelle's "shock" at her husband's unwanted promotion. "I wasn't prepared," Mrs. Paterson says. "I was at my office like any other day when one morning David calls and says, 'Are you sitting down?' It was that famous Eliot Spitzer day. He said, 'There's been some sex scandal. There will be a conference in a couple of hours. And Spitzer will be out as governor . . . and I'll be the next governor.'" She says he was "very upset." His first words? "I think I'll kill myself."

Michelle shot back, "Then who will be governor?"

Paterson summarizes the book, and incidentally, every other one by a politician or their spouse: "It's about getting thrown into being first lady. How the press treated us. About those who served David and who didn't. All from my own perspective. I don't include anyone else's thinking."

She calls herself a "very private person" from a "simple background," whose life was "suddenly...on the front pages."

That's for sure. Recall the spring of 2008, and Paterson's first scandal as governor, in which both David and Michelle admitted they are a normal couple with ups and downs, with each copping to sex outside of marriage.

Since Michelle has seemingly given up on the "private person" stuff, expect the juicy romantic details to come out closer to her publication date.

[jcoscarelli@villagevoice.com / @joecoscarelli]