I want you to want me, I need you to need me, I’d love you to love me…
After the latest ad blitz by Mayor Bloomberg, many are speculating about the reason for it. Will he be running for office again? The Senate? The Presidency? Does he actually plan to try to skirt the rules again and run for a fourth term?
Or did Bloomberg personally pay for these ads to “counterbalance the slew of ads run by unions against the mayor and his proposed budget”, as Deputy Mayor Howard Wolfson claims?
I believe the answer is none of the above.
I think the Mayor just needs a hug. And in this noble quest (as in all his quests) money is no object.
A few months ago, Bloomberg told NBC’s David Gregory that he wants to be remembered as “one of the greatest, perhaps the greatest, mayor in New York City history.”
Fat chance. His latest poll numbers rank somewhere below the Octomom. According to Marist, only 39% give Bloomberg a passing grade, while 59% say he’s doing a lousy job.
In addition to proclaiming what an independent, swell guy the mayor is, the new ads blame Albany for service cuts that Bloomberg is about to impose in his new budget. Really, it’s not me, it’s them. Don’t hate me!
The mayor must be wondering how this happened. Wasn’t it only yesterday that he was beloved (ok, appreciated) for being the astute business leader the city needed in tough times? But business leaders aren’t doing too well in likeability polls these days either.
If the mayor had departed after two terms, he probably would have gotten his wish to be remembered fondly. But his ego got in the way, as well as this winter’s botched blizzard response, Cathie Black and a host of other calamities in his ill-advised third term.
Now our poor mayor has to dig deep into his own pockets (ok, maybe into his couch cushions) to dig up the money to remind us how cute and cuddly he is. Bloomberg was reduced to posing in a ridiculous Spiderman costume to show he’s a regular guy. Sure, he looked weird and pathetic, but give the man a break, ok? He’s dying to emulate that Sally Field’s speech: “You like me, you really like me!”
So if you happen to see Bloomie, tell him what a sweetheart of a mayor he has been, how much we love him and how much he’ll be missed after he goes away.
He is going away, right?
(See Arts page for “Source Code” review.)
Wow, are you off the mark! According to an article I read on Bloomberg.com, a radio spot on Bloomberg radio paid for by Michael R. Bloomberg says that Bloomberg is doing a great job. Who would know better than the mayor himself about what a great job he’s doing?
(This post paid for by a grant from Michael R. Bloomberg)