The good news for New York Governor David Paterson is that 46% approve of his choice of Kirsten Gillibrand to replace Hillary Clinton as Senator, according to a newly released Marist Poll. 24% say he made the wrong choice and 30% were unsure.

The bad news? Paterson has lost ground against his potential opponents in 2010. In November 2008 Paterson held a 4-point lead over NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg (running as an Independent). Today Paterson trails Bloomberg by 6.

Paterson also held a 10 point lead over Republican Rudy Giuliani in November 2008 (51-41). Today Giuliani leads Paterson by one point, 47 to 46.

Overall, 46% of voters say Paterson is doing an "excellent" or "good" job as Governor.  That's 2 percent better than 12 days ago, but eight points lower than December of last year.

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