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Just two years ago, most people — including most New Yorkers — hadn’t even heard of David Paterson. He was the state’s lieutenant governor in a state where the position has little power at best and voters barely notice who’s running for the slot.

Then Elliot Spitzer — the formerly squeaky-clean former state attorney general who was supposed to clean up corruption in the state — was ensnared in a call-girl scandal that included him using his state-paid transportation to make his way to New York City for his trysts. Plus, he was married, so there was that, too.

So David Paterson ascended to the office of governor, becoming New York state’s first black governor and its first legally blind governor.

Paterson promised a “new day” in New York politics when he was sworn in. Almost immediately after, he revealed that both he and his wife had had extramarital affairs and that he’d tried cocaine. But hey, he admitted it and people were ready to put it all behind them.

But as the economy tanked, business as usual stayed the usual in the state and he stood accused of being incommunicative and hard to get a hold of, even for his aides, it looked as if his days as governor were over. Plus, attorney general and political legacy Andrew Cuomo’s campaign war chest was WAY bigger than his.

Still, Paterson asserted that the only way he would leave the governor’s office was if he was carried out “in a box” - ballot box or coffin.

Just days ago, Paterson launched his campaign for election.

Guess that was an accident, ‘cause today he’s announcing that he’s ending his campaign.