New York’s accidental governor David Paterson is likely to face stiff competition for re-election in 2010. Andrew Cuomo and other Democrats are regarded as potential primary challengers and there’s speculation that Rudy Giuliani will run on the Republican line. But perhaps his biggest re-election threat is current New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg. Bloomberg is term-limited out of Gracie Mansion in 2009, and his actions make it clear that he’s open to remaining in public life. With that as background, it was interesting that on Monday the New York Post’s highly-regarded Albany nureau chief Fred Dicker reported that Paterson privately savaged Bloomberg:

Paterson subsequently denied the accuracy of the quotes — prompting Dicker to call him out. Dicker says that Paterson knows who the source of the story is, and suggests it might even have been the Governor himself: