A skit on the weekend edition of 'Saturday Night Live' portraying a disoriented, buffoonlike Gov. Paterson, who is legally blind, has come in for strong flak from his office. Risa B. Heller, his Communications Director said the skit was nothing more than cheap ridicule, a surprisingly strong reaction since the governor is well-known to make light of his vision problems.

In her statement, Heller says that though the governor can certainly take a joke, unfortunately this particular 'Saturday Night Live' skit was offensive without being funny, and ridiculed physically disabled people, implying that they were incapable of holding jobs that came with serious responsibilities.

Fred Armisen, wearing a fake salt-and-pepper beard, a three-button suit similar to those worn by Mr. Paterson, squinted his right eye close (he can see very little from his right eye and barely making out large objects and colours), looked askance with his left eye (the governor is not able to see anything from his left eye), portraying the Governor as bumbling, lispy, referring repeatedly to cocaine use and comparing his path to the governor's office to 'an actual plot from a Richard Pryor movie.'

More along the same lines upset the Governor, who is known for his irreverent sense of humor and is cheekier than most politicians dare. However, his lively sense of humor was let down by a 'Saturday Night Live' that poked fun at his blindness and frank admission of having used cocaine and marijuana in his 20s. Talking to Daily News, Paterson said: 'I can take a joke. But, only 37% of disabled people are working and I'm afraid that that kind of third-grade humor certainly adds to this atmosphere. Let's just say I don't think it helped.'

Even the spokesman for the National Federation of the Blind slammed the skit, with Errol Cockfield Jr., Paterson's spokesman saying: 'the governor is sure that 'Saturday Night Live', with all of its talent, can find a way to be funny without being offensive.'