ALBANY (AP) -- President Barack Obama is getting a round of boos for reportedly undermining New York Gov. David Paterson in one of the nation's most Democratic states, according to a Marist College poll released Thursday.

Meanwhile, Democratic Rep. Gregory Meeks of Queens said in Washington that although he was acting on a concern from the White House about Paterson's low poll numbers, Obama never ordered him to deliver a message to the governor that he should drop out of the 2010 race.

"I was not told by the White House to tell him to get out of the race, it was more of 'There are strong concerns,"' Meeks told The Associated Press. "What happened was they had concerns about various numbers, polls numbers, et cetera. Once that was communicated to me, I thought it was important to tell my friend that the White House had concerns."

A Marist College poll finds 62 percent of New Yorkers say the Democratic president should stay out of New York politics. Even 51 percent of New York Democrats feel the White House was meddling where it didn't belong.

The poll asked voters if they thought it was right for the White House to "suggest" Paterson not run next year. The effort to get Paterson out of the race is widely attributed to the White House in news reports citing unnamed sources. An Obama spokesman on Monday wouldn't say whether or not the administration was involved.

The episode began late Saturday night when The New York Times reported that the Obama administration had sent a clear message that Paterson should step aside for the more popular Andrew Cuomo, now the state's Democratic attorney general. It continued during a presidential visit near Albany Monday, when Obama's comments and body language were generally read as favoring Cuomo over Paterson.

The conflict evidently has hurt Obama's popularity in New York. His approval rating in the Marist poll dropped 5 points in the last week to 52 percent.

Meeks said Obama didn't speak to him about the issue and Cuomo wasn't involved.

"The administration has seven years to go here, and he wants to make sure we get this agenda done," Meeks said, anticipating Obama will win a second four-year term. "So he has the right to have concerns about races throughout this country."

Democrats are concerned that Paterson, whose 17 percent approval ratings are the lowest a New York governor has ever had, could weaken the ticket so much that it would threaten the all-Democratic control of state government, said Lee Miringoff of the Marist poll.

It also could entice former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, the Republicans' most popular potential candidate, to run for governor. Cuomo has personal record-high poll numbers as attorney general and the potential to lead a stronger ticket while staving off Giuliani.

Meeks says he hopes the situation will be resolved soon for "my governor, my friend, who has done a relatively good job."

There was no immediate comment from Paterson or the White House.

Meeks said, as have other top Democrats in New York, that Paterson has to figure out "what he wants."

Those comments come even as Paterson almost daily has said he's "clearly running" and has no intention of dropping out.

(Copyright ©2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)