Can you guess the next line? "To believe that the governor perceives the situation the same way as everyone outside an immediate circle of loyal advisers does assumes, as the White House presumably did, that the David Paterson operation is a rational, predictable decision-making entity." You probably can, but you might as well read this rundown of the recent Obama/Paterson contretemps anyway.
"The president and the governor flew to New York City on separate planes." - Ouch.
"To believe that Obama perceives his chances of winning the nomination for President as everyone else does assumes that the Obama operation is a rational, predictable decision-making entity."