On The One Hand, It Makes Him Seem Humble . . . On The Other Hand, It’s Starting To Look Like Spinal Tap

Mark Green, who is not a very good politician, is running again:

Outside the Fairway market on the Upper West Side the other day, not far from the cartons of strawberries and cases of Fiji Water, a voice pleaded for attention. “I’m Mark Green, Democrat for public advocate,” it said again and again, as shoppers headed in and out of the store. “If you sign my petition for 30 seconds, I can get on the ballot to run for office again.”

A handful of people recognized Mr. Green, the man who three years ago declared he would never again seek office.

But most did not break stride. So Mr. Green cupped his hand to his face and shouted: “If you sign, I get on the ballot. If you don’t, I’ll cry.”

. . .

The reaction of Jessica Nooney, who runs a day care center on the Upper West Side, may have been emblematic. She blurted out, with a big smile, “Are you the real Mark Green?”

He nodded. She said: “It’s the real Mark Green! We need you!”

After she left, and passed the next street corner, where a New York University student was collecting signatures for Leslie Crocker Snyder’s bid for Manhattan district attorney, Ms. Nooney acknowledged feeling torn.

“He’s a household name, and I hope he makes it,” she said. “But it’s very sad. It’s like he can’t get another job. When someone has lost so many times, it’s kind of hard to come back.”

Pay To Play

Sly transition of the day:

Sampson said he’d like to look at his bill and the Assembly’s bill to see if there could be any compromises. When asked if there’s still time before law expires on June 30 he said that’s up to Republican Senator Dean Skelos, who insists he’s still in charge of the Senate. Albany observers believed Republicans won’t let the law sunset because they don’t want to alienate Bloomberg, who’s a generous donor. For WNYC I’m Beth Fertig.

I’ll Take It!

Yeah yeah, “Poll Shows Big Bloomberg Lead Over Thompson”:

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg leads City Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr., his chief Democratic challenger, 54 percent to 32 percent, among New York City voters, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released on Tuesday.

But look on the bright side — 1) couldn’t a lot of people get 54 percent if they had $20 million to spend before June? And 2) “June” is siginificant here, because it’s still early! See, for example, poll numbers from late July 2001, when people hadn’t really gotten to know Bloomberg yet (of course, there was that lucky post-9/11, pre-RNC Giuliani endorsement):

Republican mayoral candidate Michael Bloomberg has closed the gap against any of the four Democratic candidates, but still trails any Democrat, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

In a June 7 poll by the independent Quinnipiac University, Bloomberg trailed any of the four Democrats by margins of 2 -1 or more.

In this latest poll, possible general election matchups show:

• City Council Speaker Peter Vallone over Bloomberg 53 – 28 percent, with 16 percent undecided, down from 61 – 18 percent June 7;
• Public Advocate Mark Green over Bloomberg 54 – 28 percent, with 15 percent undecided, down from 62 – 20 percent;
• City Comptroller Alan Hevesi over Bloomberg 51 – 29 percent, with 17 percent undecided, down from 58 – 21 percent;
• Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer over Bloomberg 48 – 33 percent, with 17 percent undecided, down from 55 – 25 percent.

Sure, You Could Go There . . . But Why Would You?

Steve, first, can you be a little bit less obvious — too frequently your analysis just washes over me like so much CNN — but more importantly can you also maybe just leave us a fucking teensy-weensy sliver of hope that Mayor Iceberg can possibly be stopped? Because stuff like this just makes me want to stare directly into the sun and pry off my own fingernails with a spoon:

Certainly, the roots of Mr. Clinton’s press contempt differ from Mr. Bloomberg’s. The former president, who launched his first campaign at the age of 26, was hardly a stranger to unfriendly questions by the time he became president. His resentment, it seemed, stemmed more from his desire to be seen by Americans as a policy wonk and not a political animal. (In reality, he was both.) So he’d angrily lash out at any suggestion of political motive, an effort to convince the public, and maybe himself, that there was nothing to the charge.

Until he ran for mayor at the age of 59, Mr. Bloomberg’s only relationship to the press came as the owner of a media company. He may actually see himself as being above politics, but what seems to exercise him when the press broaches the subject isn’t really fear that they might be on to something; it’s the idea that anyone would have the audacity to challenge his version of things, least of all a bunch of lowly reporters who would surely be off making real salaries if they were capable of it.

It’s not clear he really has to change that attitude, either. Mr. Clinton always won in the end. The overwhelming likelihood is that, despite himself, the mayor will, too.

Sarcasm Is A Symptom Of A Populace That Is Beaten Down

Yes, sarcasm is a sickness (“We don’t have nearly enough of your campaign offices in our neighborhoods. Really, we don’t.”). Sadly, the only cure is more Weiner:

Representative Anthony D. Weiner has put himself into the maybe category for the 2009 mayor’s race.

So why is he suddenly renting a campaign office? In May, Mr. Weiner spent $8,215 for space in an S. L. Green building in Midtown.

Most leases for commercial office space are long-term (for a year, at least) — a curious commitment for a man who has called himself a “quasi candidate.”

A spokeswoman for Mr. Weiner, Marie Ternes, said the lawmaker “has five employees and a multimillion-dollar organization. Of course he needs an office.”