See, The Thing Is Was, Senior Year Was Just Such A Blur For Me . . .

One day after she received a big endorsement from rising star Anthony Weiner, opposition research about CD11 candidate Yvette Clark emerges with its first hit. Oh, how did that get in the Post? Hmm, I wonder:

A Brooklyn congressional candidate said yesterday she forget that she never completed her college degree.

City Councilwoman Yvette Clarke, running in the 11th District, claims on the Campaign Finance Board Web site that she graduated from Ohio’s Oberlin College. But the Democrat, who also studied at Brooklyn’s Medgar Evers College, admitted yesterday to being two classes short of her BA.

“I spent much of the day today in contact with Oberlin College and Medgar Evers College to retrieve my academic records from two decades ago, convinced of my recollection that I had fulfilled the requirements for a bachelor’s degree,” Clarke said.

“Contrary to that recollection, I have now discovered that I remain two classes short of the requirements for my degree. This is an embarrassing moment for me, but I feel it is important to set the record straight.”

Next oppo steps: Check how crazy she sounded on the podcast (I haven’t listened to it). Or here (I’m pretty sure she was the only one who out and out said that only an African-American should run).

I Have No Plans To Run For President . . . In 2008!

Hizzoner’s meeting with Florida Governor Jeb Bush — you know, brother of the current President and son of a former President — is as good a reminder as any that the Mayor only ruled out a 2008 run yesterday:

Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will join Mayor Bloomberg at an Association for a Better New York forum next week to push for increased accountability in public schools.

The two co-wrote an op-ed piece in The Washington Post calling on Congress to improve the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act by imposing uniform standards and providing merit pay to attract top teachers.

Hizzoner: If Nominated, I Will Not Accept . . .

On a trip to the last of the “three I’s” Mayor Bloomberg announced that he will not be running for President:

During his first trip to Ireland since winning election in 2001, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on Tuesday ruled out a run for president in 2008, saying that he would serve out his remaining three years as mayor before leaving politics and starting a full-time career in philanthropy.

Speculation about the political plans of Mr. Bloomberg, 64, a multibillionaire whose term runs through 2009, has escalated over the past few months as he appeared to flirt with the idea of a presidential run. But his comments in Ireland appeared to close the door on that.

“I am the mayor of the greatest city in the world,” Mr. Bloomberg told reporters in Ballymote in west Ireland, the ancestral home of a brigadier general of the American Army’s 69th or Fighting Irish Infantry Regiment, where he went to unveil a cylindrical statue. “I have the greatest job in the world, and it’s got 3 years, 4 months and about 10 days left to go, and I plan to serve all of that.”

The mayor said that he was flattered by the speculation and his mother enjoyed news reports about it, but he added that he planned to leave politics. “I think you can expect me to be mayor through my term and leave political life and try and do something else and continue to make the world better for my kids,” he said.

Asked whether that was a definite no, Mr. Bloomberg said: “I do not know how many times I have to say I am not going to run for president. But I’ll say it one more time. I have no plans to run for president.”

But even if he doesn’t want to admit it, the man has the political prowess of a Jack Kennedy:

The trip to Ireland completed Mr. Bloomberg’s trilogy of “I”‘s that New York mayors traditionally visit, which also includes Italy and Israel, and he used the trip in part to promote the role of business leaders in politics. Speaking earlier to civic leaders here, Mr. Bloomberg said that promoting an all-island economy between north and south in Ireland was the right policy.

“Sometimes, business leaders and entrepreneurs provide civic leadership by finding the common ground that all people share: a desire for good jobs and a secure future — and a willingness to work together to create them,” Mr. Bloomberg said.

But the visit also seemed to inspire a more relaxed mood than the mayor has often displayed at public events in New York. Outlining his relationship to Irish culture in his speech, he spoke fondly of his Friday nights as a young man at O’Flanagan’s Pub on the Upper East Side.

Or Maybe The Office Of Public Advocate Is Just Lame

The Post is on Betsy Gotbaum’s case:

The first six months of Betsy Gotbaum’s second term were a whirlwind of private lunches, dinners and strategy meetings with precious few government initiatives to show for it, a Post review of her schedules found.

From Jan. 1 through June 30, she attended several political fund-raisers and social events, held sit-downs with advocates for social issues and saw several City Hall commissioners.

During that time, she released just three reports, a policy brief and two guides, drafted seven bills — and held only a handful of public events to support them.

Instead of the outraged press conferences her predecessor, Mark Green, held almost every weekend — and on many weekdays — her Saturdays and Sundays were mostly personal.

They included a June trip to education expert Diane Ravitch’s Hamptons home, for which Gotbaum used her city-funded car and driver. She took the Jitney back.

Aides to Gotbaum, who used the car to pick up her grandson at the airport last week, said she pays back the office “as required,” but couldn’t provide a reimbursement list, saying the staffers who handle it were off.

In 2002, Gotbaum complained her office was so strapped that she couldn’t do much, but it’s now back to pre-2002 levels, with a $2.99 million budget for fiscal year 2007 and 43 staffers.

The $150,000-a-year ombudsman post has little power, but is seen as a stepping stone for higher office. Gotbaum, 68, who raised eyebrows by staying mum during the recent Queens blackout, is considering a run for either mayor or city comptroller, sources said.

See also: The Office of City “Shusher” (July 6, 2005).

Excitement!

Put this bad boy on your iPod:

The 11th Congressional district race has been the most heated of all this year. So we invited all four candidates for the Fightin’ 11th seat — state Sen. Carl Andrews (D-Crown Heights), City Councilwoman Yvette Clarke (D-Flatbush), Chris Owens, and City Councilman David Yassky (D-Brooklyn Heights) — to debate the issues in our DUMBO offices. The entire conversation — moderated by Brooklyn Papers’ Editor Gersh Kuntzman and President Ed Weintrob — is available online.

Some backstory: You Know You’ve Jumped The Shark When . . .