The mayor today told Governor David Paterson to focus on his job, not approval ratings, in the wake of comments the governor made last week charging that racial bias in the media is hurting his poll numbers.

While Mayor Michael Bloomberg backed up the governor, he stopped short of addressing the issue of race. Instead, he noted that Paterson came in to his job at a very difficult time with little opportunity for a transition.

Bloomberg advised Paterson to concentrate on work, not on the poll numbers.

"What the governor's got to do is work as hard as he can, not worry about the polls. Not worry about his political career in the future," the mayor said. "He's got roughly 14 months left to go. If I were him, I would do what he is doing, trying to be the best governor that he can."

The uproar stems from comments Paterson made in a radio interview on Friday, in which he pointed to racial bias as the root of his political problems.

Paterson has not backed away from those comments.