Gov. David Paterson mishandled the delicate task to name a Senate replacement for Hillary Clinton. There is little doubt about that.

Paterson looked unsure, indecisive and even clownish at times. Underestimating the huge egos involved, he created an unnecessary rift between his administration and Caroline Kennedy, who wanted the job, despite having no experience in elective office. Had she actually been appointed, Kennedy would have quickly earned the unkind nickname of “Senator You-Know” in recognition of her rather surprising lack of talent for retail politicking and lackluster speaking skills.

In the end, Paterson selected Kirsten Gillibrand, a 42-year-old, relatively unknown congresswoman from upstate Hudson.

Funny, but there may be a tremendous upside to this. For one thing, I think it’s a plus for every day New Yorkers that the downstate liberal elitists who control the Democratic Party are in a snit over Gillibrand. They’re already ridiculing her as a light weight, and they hate her conservative views.

It drives them absolutely crazy that an upstater who never paid into their mutual backscratching system got such a plumb position. A lot of the New York/Metro region hacks think upstaters are nothing but moonshine-drinking crackers, and don’t deserve a share of power. Trust me on that—I know.

I was amused by one widely quoted comment made by an anonymous political consultant who was critical of the governor’s performance.

Of Paterson, he said: “He’s managed to anger in one full swoop, the Kennedys, the Cuomos and the Clintons. That’s a pretty good trifecta.”

Who the hell cares? I don’t care for a second that these so-called first families of New York politics are ticked off. Good! Maybe, this will teach them to take their highly evolved sense of entitlement and stuff it where it belongs.

Gillibrand may not have been Paterson’s first preference. But he ultimately made a decent choice that embraced a brand of inclusivity that’s not all that well understood by the New York elite, who have a low tolerance for people who don’t live where they live and don’t think like they think.

But the governor blew it by letting the process drag on too long, and by incessantly musing about it out loud and in public. His “job application” form was a ridiculous joke. In particular, he should’ve made up his mind a lot sooner over the one figure in this drama, who had the least experience and therefore was the most prone to being bruised by the down-and-dirty process of New York politics—and that was Caroline Kennedy.

Who knows…Gillibrand could be a lousy senator. But if she is, voters will soon have a chance to kick her out of office. In the meantime, she should stick to her guns and tell the political bullies to shove it.

There’s no doubt about that.

Choosing a competent