New York Gov. David Paterson has had a rough ride recently. His approval ratings are in the toilet, the President of the United States has told him to not seek a full term and New York is facing its worst budget crisis since the 1970s.

Now he's fighting off rumors from a supposedly upcoming New York Times piece that some say could force the governor to resign. The rumor of the article has been floating around the state for several days, and several media organizations have written about the rumor.

The governor thinks that is unfair. According to the Associated Press, he called the rumors and reporting "callous and sleazy":

"For the last couple of weeks, I have been the subject of what, even by Albany standards, has been a spate of outrageous rumors about me," Paterson told the AP. He said the rumors had been stirred up by an as-yet unpublished New York Times investigation "that spawned a bunch of speculations that are so way out that it's shocking." He said he now fears that all reporters are "stretching the bounds of journalism" in a race to get anyone to confirm a vicious rumor about him.

The New York Times has declined to comment. Paterson is also calling a New York Post piece about him being caught in the governor's mansion with a woman other than his wife false. The Post stands by its reporting.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio agrees that the rumors are too much. He wrote a letter to the Times' executive editor.

"If the New York Times is working on or has a story, then you should confirm or print it. If you do not, then you have a moral obligation to stop the drama and the psychological warfare on Governor Paterson. Unfortunately, these rumors about the Governor are a sad reflection of Albany politics. No public official deserves to be the subject of over a week of innuendo and nasty speculation. I hope you do the right thing, and do it soon," Lazio wrote.

If the governor behaved in a way that brought shame to his office, then he should be subject to that information being exposed to the public and suffer the consequences for his actions. If his behavior tainted his official duties, then that is even more egregious. However, is it fair for him to have to fight off rumors about his behavior?Kelly McBride, the ethics team leader at the Poynter Institute, said there's not a black or white answer to this question in an interview with Aol. Black Voices.

"A better question when it comes to rumors about the behavior of public officials is what is your journalistic responsibility. It is your absolute journalistic responsibility to investigate rumors, because there are plenty examples of the untoward behavior of public officials affecting them acting in their official capacity. Actually, it would be journalist malpractice to ignore rumors," said McBride.

Even reporting about the rumors of an impending story is not out of bounds because of the nature of today's media landscape. For example, said McBride, it might make sense for a gossip columnist, media columnist or blogger to report about the rumor of a devastating story that is about to be published. A traditional news organization may approach the topic differently.

"There is a long distance between a rumor and news story, and the journalist has the obligation to verify facts," said McBride. "Even within that there is a responsible way to present the facts that have been verified, so the audience can make own judgments."

The danger in reporting about a potential story is that the media organization could decide against running the story. That happens all the time. In that case, said McBride, media organizations that reported about a potential story have a responsibility to revisit the issue and update their reporting.

I'm not sure if we'd be hearing about these stories if Paterson had bowed out of the race for governor. Instead, he would probably be fixed up with a nice position in the private sector and receive a slap on the back and a roast on his way out the door. What ethical expectations can the people of New York have of their next governor after the last elected governor resigned because he frequented prostitutes and the potential scandal looming over his replacement? Even if no story comes out, the reality is that Paterson has been tainted.

That's the problem with politics. Whatever the outcome, we end up feeling slimy.