Tennis great John McEnroe used to torment umpires who didn’t agree with his vision of things by screaming, “You cannot be serious!” McEnroe’s act became worn out and when his game did too, he retired to the broadcast booth, where now he asks the questions.
Which brings me to Mayor Bloomberg. He was supposed to retire but now has a new lease on life. However, you might NOT want to ask him about how he got his new shot. He will say something like, “You cannot be serious!”
Give or take a few words, that’s essentially what the mayor said to the New York Observer’s Azi Paybarah last week, who had suggested Bloomberg’s rationale for changing the term limits law was undermined by an improving economy. The mayor went from cranky (“If you have a serious question about the economy I’d be happy to answer it!”) to nasty (“You are a disgrace!")
The mere mention of the words “TERM LIMITS” threatens to send the normally mild-mannered Mike into Mount St. Mike, or Mad Mike, or, well, you get the picture.
New York City Mayors have a long tradition of entering the job as cool customers, only to morph into moody, testy or worse. From Koch to Dinkins to Giuliani and now to Bloomberg, the daily grind took its toll.
In fact, it may be that the mayor gets more questions on a daily basis than any other politician in the country. And believe it or not, every once in a great while, reporters ask dumb questions.
Therefore, we will forgive the occasional snipes from Hizzoner. And occasional gaffes. Like saying President Obama “doesn’t get paid much” (400 thousand dollars!). That will play into critic’s hands that he’s an out-of-touch billionaire
But how about campaign questions? Serious questions. The other day a reporter asked him about debating City Comptroller and likely democratic mayoral candidate Bill Thompson. The mayor said, “You have to call the campaign.”
Huh? Another reported pointed out that indeed he, Bloomberg, was in charge of his own campaign.
Or so we thought! The Mayor said he has to check with his consultants and isn’t “smart enough” to make those decisions on his own!
Well, of course! That clears that up, let’s move on!
Bloomberg is not the only politician who tries to control news conferences.
President Obama doesn’t even let you raise your hand. He has a list of pre-selected reporters to call on. Presumably, no one on “the outs” will get a chance. And ever the basketball player, Obama practices a kind of rhetorical four-corner stall, dragging out the answers so that each could qualify as a small speech. Very clever: more blather, less questions.
But Barack Obama will never get nasty. It’s not his style.
For New York City Mayors, it’s different. To survive you need a chip on your shoulder. Nobody wants a milquetoast at City Hall. I once asked Ed Koch if one of the mayoral job requirements was to be an SOB. He laughed and said absolutely yes.
As of late, though, Bloomberg has stepped over the line. Twice.
In April, he had to apologize to a reporter in a wheelchair who had the gall to drop his tape recorder at a press conference, and was subject to a bizarre rant. Last week the Mayor did apologize to Azi for the “disgrace” comment (although he had his spokesperson “pass it along.”)
Bloomberg needs to be on his best behavior for a while since, to extend the basketball analogy, he is in foul trouble. Another outburst might catch the attention of that group that really controls his future: the voters!
But for now, the mayor’s numbers are still strong. His missteps are mostly mis-speaks, and even though a Quinnipiac poll says most New Yorkers don’t “like Mike,” they still love the job he does.
As for the critics who say he spends too much, the mayor fairly responds that it’s his money, and he’s not beholden to anyone. In addition, he rightly points out that in so many national congressional elections, it is the message, not the money, that’s important.
It is fair to say that the biggest threat to the Mayor is not the competition, but another malaprop. So maybe Bloomberg should take a cue from the President. No, I’m not suggesting long answers.
But how about a Teleprompter at City Hall? He can afford it.
Dick Brennan
