AG Andrew Cuomo plan to engage in a little retail politics at the 125th Street A-train stop in Harlem this morning was quickly scuttled when supporters of his long-shot gubernatorial opponent, NYC Councilman Charles Barron, showed up, NY1′s Josh Robin reports.

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“Cuomo got entirely overrun by Charles Barron protesters and abandoned the subway stop gladhandling,” Robin says. “The rain didn’t help either.”

Barron himself was not on hand, Robin tells me. Barron petitioned his way into the November gubernatorial election on what he’s calling the Freedom Party line to protest the lack of any candidates of color on the statewide Democratic ticket.

Cuomo tried to shake hands at least three times before abandoning the effort, Robin says.

He was flanked by Assemblyman Keith Wright, chairman of the Manhattan Democratic Party, and former state Comptroller H. Carl McCcall. Rep. Charlie Rangel, who just survived a tough primary in the face of 13 ethics villations charges, is at the meeting.

The Barron backers only numbered a half dozen, but they were vocal and effective. They shouted “Harlem is not for sale!” and “Cuomo-Paladino: Different name, same game!” (Yikes).

Cuomo seemed striking “unsettled” by the incident and rushed inside the Dwyer Cultural Center at 123rd Street for a meeting with black officials – including McCall, his 2002 primary opponent; former NYC Comptroller Bill Thompson, who is one of three Cuomo campaign co-chairs; and the Rev. Al Sharpton – at which he will be strategizing how to win back the support of black voters and engage his GOP opponent, Carl Paladino, on the subject of race.

Up until this point, Cuomo has relied on surrogates to slam Paladino and brand him as a racist. He’s mulling a more direct form of personal engagement with the Buffalo businessman at a time when he’s under pressure from many corners – including the Times editorial page – to quit mooning around his Rose Garden and come out swinging.

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