Part Charlie Rose, Part Frederick Frankenstein

Mark Green — the man directly responsible for Mayor Bloomberg — confronts his creation:

It was a meeting that felt more like a Catskill comedy routine than a reunion of two formerly bitter political rivals:

When Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg visited the studios of Air America Radio yesterday for an interview at the hands of Mark Green, the two men made a show of how deeply they had buried the hatchet since their bruising contest for mayor in 2001.

“Who would have thought that you’re here as the media guy and I’m here as the politician,” Mr. Bloomberg said to Mr. Green, a perennial candidate who swore off politics after losing the race for state attorney general to Andrew M. Cuomo last year.

“You took the words out of my mouth,” Mr. Green said. “If you had asked me six years ago whether I’d be interviewing you as a co-owner and president of Air America Radio and you as the mayor . . .”

. . .

The encounter between Mr. Bloomberg and Mr. Green, one of their most extended since Mr. Green’s 2001 defeat, made for an odd bit of political theater. Mr. Green, a Democrat, largely expressed support for what Mr. Bloomberg has done with the office they once fought over.

But it also gave Mr. Bloomberg, a nominal Republican, the opportunity to send his messages about stemming illegal gun trafficking and improving the environment to a potentially receptive national audience.

And to trade cheesy puns. At one point, Mr. Green segued into a discussion of Mr. Bloomberg’s environmental development plan, saying it was an effort to create “a cleaner city, as he calls it a greener city — a phrase I’m not going to object to at this time.”

Mr. Bloomberg interjected: “I’ve always wanted to make this a green city, Mark. Just not back in ’01.”

Quick — Let Sheekey Know That www.mikebloombergisnotrunningforpresident.com Is Still Available!

Or maybe he just wanted a place to highlight all his freelance work:

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg began his day saying he was not interested in running for president, but he ended it with a signal, albeit virtual, that he is still considering it.

Late yesterday afternoon, Mr. Bloomberg announced that he was dusting off his old campaign Web site, www.mikebloomberg.com, to promote his work, public and private, on the issues he cares about.

“This new Web site is the single place where people can go to find out what I’ve done not only in government, but in business and philanthropy as well,” Mr. Bloomberg said in a prepared statement.

. . .

Visitors to Mr. Bloomberg’s Web site, which operated during both his mayoral campaigns only to be largely shut down after his victories, will find celebratory images of the mayor holding children and smiling amid a receptive public.

They will also find recent news media coverage and invitations to learn more about his work “in the public and private sectors to improve schools, reform health care, keep illegal guns off of our streets and bring nonpartisan solutions to government.”

Donde Esta La Boleta?

Hizzoner truly has an intrinsic love of learning and self-betterment:

On his recent jaunt to Mexico, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg fielded questions from Mexican reporters and, to the surprise of many, responded in Spanish.

People who have closely followed Mr. Bloomberg’s political career know that he has been studying the language for several years, and have listened as he has sporadically stumbled over it on the campaign trail.

But according to aides, this was one of the first times the mayor took his gradually acquired proficiency for an extended spin in public.

Mr. Bloomberg’s persistence in learning a language spoken by at least a quarter of all New Yorkers would not help him in another mayoral election; term limits prevent him from running again. But as he is increasingly mentioned as a potential presidential candidate, his ability to properly conjugate verbs in Spanish, along with his views on issues like immigration, could help endear him to Hispanic voters across the country.

. . .

While his accent was pronounced and he sometimes rolled right over the emphasis of certain syllables, a Univision correspondent who covered his Mexico visit was impressed enough to pause during a news conference that followed to compliment the mayor, drawing applause from the Mexican journalists present.

“We’ve been covering you for many years now and it’s pretty good,” said Antonio Martínez, a reporter and anchor with Noticias 41 Univision, New York.

“I have a lot to learn,” the mayor responded in English.

Later that day the mayor, who has been studying since about 2000, spent more than an hour conversing in Spanish with his Mexico City counterpart, Marcelo Ebrard, on complex issues ranging from crime to social programs, again forgoing the use of an interpreter.

Some native Spanish-speaking journalists present privately tittered at Mr. Bloomberg’s accent. But his proficiency seems to have come a long way from just two years ago, when his Spanish-language television ads drew some derision from Spanish instructors, including his former tutor.

Y el tren 7 es muy interesante:

Aides to Mr. Bloomberg said he continues to study at least an hour a day and continues to work with private tutors.

“Sometimes he’ll take a tutor with him if he’s going to Flushing on the 7 train,” said his spokesman, Stu Loeser.

Watch Out, Hillary . . .

. . . and Barack, too! The support of Hollywood may be crucial in 2008 and Bloomberg seems to be sniffing around:

Mayor Bloomberg unveiled a campaign to combat film piracy yesterday, stepping up his effort to clamp down on pirated DVDs and illegal videotaping of films.

The announcement came as he signed three bills into law at a ceremony yesterday, including one that stiffens penalties for illegally filming movies, making it a misdemeanor offense.

Now I Wanna Be Your Sister Souljah

Is the mayor running for President or something? Here he is channeling Rod Paige:

Bolstered by a vote of confidence from 100 civic leaders, Mayor Bloomberg yesterday took aim at what he called “special interests” trying to derail his education reforms, and compared the tactics of the teachers union to those of gun lobbyists.

In doing so, the mayor borrowed a page from President Bush’s tough-talk play book against terrorism and gave his critics a stark choice: “You’re either with our children, or against our children.”

And then there’s the ultimate McCain-Feingold work-around — a sort of 501(c)(3) PAC*:

Among the leaders to join the mayor were many whose organizations have contracts with the school system or have benefited from his personal philanthropic largess, including the Haitian Centers Council, 100 Black Men of New York and the Bronx Council on the Arts.

Bloomberg angrily objected to questions about his ties to his supporters, calling them “people who are dedicating their lives to trying to help this city and make it better.”

*Bloomberg poops more than Mitt Romney will ever make, no matter how much they tithe; if you want his support, fund his favorite charity.