ALBANY, N.Y. -- With state revenues plummeting along with options, Governor Paterson again turned to the federal government.

"The sooner that we address this crisis, the stronger and faster we'll recover from it," Governor Paterson said.

He's after a big chunk of a new stimulus package now stalled in Congress, heavy on cash for roads and bridges, plus health funding where New York has been shortchanged for years.

Paterson and neighboring governors, meanwhile, dashed off a letter to President Bush's labor secretary asking for money to retrain laid-off financial workers.

"It may just help us start to recover from what is a very, very serious downturn in our economy, the likes of which we have not seen in 80 years," Paterson said.

Paterson's credibility is strained though, after previously saying Washington should help only after New York got its own finances in order. It hasn't.

An emergency deficit-cutting session in Albany yielded none of the cuts he wanted, after a session deteriorated in partisan bickering with outgoing state Senate Leader Dean Skelos, a Republican. In a sign he's banking on no progress until January, Paterson didn't invite Skelos to Washington, making the governor’s entourage a virtual Republican-free zone. The Assembly speaker and the presumed incoming leader of the state Senate were there, plus business and labor leaders.

It prompted a stony response. A Skelos spokesman said, "The governor went out of his way yesterday to talk about how this process has been politicized. By going to Washington only with Democrats, he made the case beautifully."

It seems that Paterson's case won't be heard until next year at the earliest. State Democrats have all but abandoned hope for aid before Barack Obama takes over, along with stronger Democratic control of Congress.

But even with fellow Democrats at the helm, getting a piece won't be easy.

New York isn't the only one looking to Washington for money. Far from it. Other states, the auto industry and homeowners facing foreclosure are also here, hat in hand.

So with the line for January handouts getting longer, Paterson figures he better start early.