The faint stink of desperation has come to Gov. Paterson's adamant denial of charges he was getting intimate with a young lovely—not his wife—over lunch. Hedged by his spouse, he again publicly refuted claims he cuddled a married mother at a New Jersey steakhouse. "The portrayal of that incident was such an outrageous lie," he stated during a Harlem news conference. "I'm really not going to give it any more oxygen than it has." A fellow diner, who claims she witnessed neck-kissing, nuzzling and cuddling sparked the rumor by summoning the NY Post to the scene. Meanwhile, Paterson's approval ratings are lower than a limbo pole at a flea circus. 60 percent of voters surveyed want a new governor, while just 31 percent think he is doing an excellent or good job as governor.