The World Loves A Hypocrite

And irony, as well:

Just days after Mayor Bill de Blasio announced an aggressive plan to prevent traffic deaths, CBS 2 cameras caught the driver of a car carrying the mayor violating a number of traffic laws.

As CBS 2’s Marcia Kramer reported Thursday, the mayor’s two-car caravan was seen speeding, blowing through stop signs, and violating other traffic laws. Kramer reported that if the driver of the lead car, which carried the mayor in its passenger seat, would have racked up enough points to get his license suspended if he’d been ticketed.

Also, the bold leader this City needs:

“We believe public safety is everyone’s responsibility. We also recognize NYPD’s training and protocols, and refer questions related to security and transportation to them.”

And Then It Turns Out That The Attendance Rate Was Basically Like The 2002 Iraqi Presidential Referendum . . .

. . . in that more than one school had 100 percent attendance:

On a day when more than half of the city’s students were marked absent, three public schools reported 100 percent attendance on Thursday, a seemingly miraculous feat in the face of all the ice and snow.

Did these schools have the city’s most popular teachers? Were their students uncommonly devoted to learning? Were the hot lunches just that good?

None of the above, it seems.

An official at one of the schools called the 100 percent figure “not accurate.” At another, it was called “a glitch.” And at the third, the principal said in an email on Friday: “My attendance yesterday was 73 percent.”

If the next 35 six weeks are anything like the first six weeks . . .

The Mayor’s Valentine’s Day Gift To The City: Your Mental Space Back

With any luck, it’ll be a four-day weekend:

After taking a battering over his decision to keep schools open during a heavy snowstorm Thursday, Mayor de Blasio suddenly canceled a scheduled press conference Friday.

“The city’s response to the weather has been good overall, and beyond yesterday’s extensive briefing, there isn’t an immediate update to provide,” the mayor’s office said in a statement to explain the abrupt move.

The media dodge — announced less than two hours before he was slated to deliver a weather update and field other questions — also came amid lingering questions about his intervention in the arrest of a campaign supporter.

So Is Pre-K Also Basically About Child Care?

When less than half of kids show up to school citywide, being obstinate about keeping school open is clearly not about the instructional day. Maybe it’s just about a school leader being obstinate — it probably feels pretty good to thread the needle when it comes to the weather. But it turns out that it’s really just about the child care:

But the mayor and Ms. Fariña said city officials had juggled several considerations as they made the call, never an easy one, to keep public schools open.

Mr. de Blasio said he was mindful of parents who could not take off work on short notice and who depend on schools for child care, and he said officials believed that warmer temperatures and snowfall estimates would make for a safe commute.

Ms. Fariña said she had heard complaints from parents about last-minute decisions to close schools, so the city sought to provide more notice by deciding the night before. She said officials were also reluctant to call off school so close to a vacation week.

Blizzards have produced some of New York’s most memorable gaffes — former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg once urged snowbound residents to see a Broadway show — and Ms. Fariña veered close to that territory, telling New Yorkers, still struggling with slush-covered sidewalks, that “it is absolutely a beautiful day out there right now.”

Earlier: First Rule Of Governance: Don’t Get In A Public Debate With Al Roker.

First Rule Of Governance: Don’t Get In A Public Debate With Al Roker

Because as big a rock star mayor you are, you’re still not Al Roker:

“I knew this am @NYCMayorsOffice @NYCSchools would close schools. Talk about a bad prediction,” Roker tweeted from Russia. “Long range DiBlasio forecast: 1 term.”

Roker misspelled the mayor’s name.

The mayor fired back, telling Roker to stick to weather.

“I respect Al Roker a lot, watched him on TV for many years,” de Blasio said. “It’s a different thing to run a thing than give the weather on TV.”