Yesterday I wrote about the Quinnipiac poll showing a rather dramatic slide in public opinion for Caroline Kennedy.  New York Governor David Paterson brushed off the survey ("There is no body of work that the public is necessarily considering," Paterson told Newsday, adding, "These are popularity contests."). At the same time, Paterson  signaled that  a decision on Hillary Clinton's replacement may be imminent because her confirmation as Secretary of State is now a foregone conclusion after breezing through the Foreign Relations Committee earlier in the week.

Chris Cillizza reports the same this today: that Paterson is VERY close to making a decision, but that he's playing it very close to the vest.

Yet today we also received still more polling data, this time from Marist, showing that Caroline Kennedy's standing among the public in New York has taken a very serious hit.  Some bullet points from the poll's write up:

> In a little more than a month, Caroline Kennedy's rating has plummeted among registered voters in New York State.  46% say they have a positive impression of Kennedy today. That's a 16 percentage point drop from a Marist Poll conducted just last month.

>62% say Cuomo would do either an excellent or good job as Hillary Clinton's replacement while just 10% think he would do poorly.  Registered voters across the state are less confident in Caroline Kennedy's ability.  41% feel she would do an above average job while 20% report she would perform poorly.

> 40% of registered voters in New York State say Governor David Paterson should appoint New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to the position while 25% believe Caroline Kennedy should assume the role.  That's a marked difference for Cuomo from just one month ago when the Marist Poll showed him and Kennedy in a tie with each receiving 25% of New Yorkers' support.  Kennedy's backing remains at a standstill.

The question is, will these last minute polls influence Paterson to choose someone other than Kennedy? Or does he believe that once appointed she'll be able to recover her standing with the public after she goes to the Senate?

Incidentally, the Newsday piece cited above contained this historical nugget:

Only twice before have New York governors named a Senate replacement, and both later were rejected at the polls. They were Republicans John Foster Dulles, who was voted out in 1949, and Charles Goodell, who lost in 1970.

Just, you know, for the record.