December 8, 2010

"Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on Wednesday unleashed a blunt and stinging critique of the federal government’s handing of the economic recovery..."

"... saying that lawmakers from both parties have 'abdicated their responsibility' in favor of partisan bickering... In a long and sweeping speech..."

I guess if it was long, it was written before yesterday's news of the big, bipartisan tax compromise. Poor Bloomie! The wind taken out of his sails just as he's launching his campaign armada.
The speech, far-reaching in scope and language, and delivered with much fanfare along the Brooklyn waterfront, instantly intensified speculation about the mayor’s political ambitions...
Delivered with much fanfare along the waterfront.... I'm trying to picture that delivery along the waterfront... with fanfare....

52 comments:

chickelit said...

Tugboats? :)

Anonymous said...

Given this:

The tax legislation that congressional Republicans and the White House have agreed to will include extensions of the biodiesel and ethanol subsidies through 2011, says Iowa. Charles Grassley, the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee. The $1-a-gallon biodiesel subsidy, which lapsed at the end of 2009, would be retroactive to this year, he said.


He may be correct.

Bernie Sanders says he will fillibuster and DeMint is a no on cloture and passage.

Should be interesting...

Phil 314 said...

Someone needs to tell Mayor Bloomberg that wealthy third party presidential candidate comes before Democratic losses in mid-term election, not after.

jungatheart said...

Yentl!

test said...

Just what we need. We have one party that is right on about 15% of the issues, and another that is right on about 40%. Somehow we find a compromise candidate who is right on nothing at all.

Phil 314 said...

PS And Babs has better pipes than the Mayor, so though I disagree with her politics I'd rather watch her on the waterfront than Hizzoner.

Ann Althouse said...

"Tugboats? :)"

I don't know what you're trying to say, but you made me look "tugboat" up in Urban Dictionary. There are like 30 definitions... all different.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=tugboat

Phil 314 said...

And if a Muslim from Egypt can nuzzle with a perky Jewish girl from Brooklyn then there's hope in the Middle East

J said...

Yo hold on hot jurisprudential mamacita--gotta go take a......... Bloomberg .

The authentic patriot would demand an investigation of Bloomy andh is shady financial dealings--and an explanation of how his portfolio went from like 1-2 billion shekels to 20 billion in about 2-3 years--and his possible ties to Madoff--what a great potential bunkie for Bloomy! se lah

Phil 314 said...

Now I remember why it wouldn't work out. She ended up with the Jewish guy

campy said...

fanfare along the waterfront....

Poor Mikey, he coulda had class, he coulda been somebody. He coulda been a contender.

Instead of a bum, which is what he is.

Hagar said...

This "tax-cut deal" seem to have more unsavory appendages attached to it exposed with every article written about it.

I do think this is indeed just another one of Boehner's "crap sandwiches!"

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

He was a democrat before he became a republican only to re-register as an independent..

Bloomberg.. a boring threesome.

traditionalguy said...

So is Bloomie running as a third party or as a Democrat? It is hard to see him beating Palin, but he could do in Obama fairly easily and clear the way for Hillary when he drops out.

Richard Dolan said...

Like Streisand in that clip, he should have started out on the Manhattan side. It's where he belongs.

AllenS said...

Bloomberg could run for President and Michelle Obama as his VP. They could call the new political party--

The No Salt and Pie Party.

Trooper York said...

Bloomberg has been the worst mayor for small business since Lindsey

He did do great things for his real estate buddies though.

jungatheart said...

c3, not a great Babs fan, but she's pretty good. There's much more chemistry between her and Bridges:

mirror has two faces lecture scene

(Pierce Brosnan inconsequential to this clip)






http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5pdMyuJu-c&NR=1

ndspinelli said...

How about a Bloomberg/ Mitch Daniels ticket. The coffee and energy drink industry would love it.

Titus said...

Quit being mean to Bloomberg Ann. This seems to be a pattern.

Titus said...

I am having ginger in my smoothie today.

Thank you.

Rialby said...

Don't thank me. Thank the guy who ate the ginger.

ricpic said...

A Bloomberg presidency? Get ready for bike lanes on the interstate.

save_the_rustbelt said...

When Wall Street was looting the entire country Bloomberg didn't bitch because his tax revenues were really high.

Now he gets cranky.

Unknown said...

Bloomie should have made his run in '08, when the all-intrusive welfare state still had some traction. According to this, Tea Parties are beginning to form on college campuses.

Not UW-Madison yet, but there's one at the University of Pennsylvania.

Penn!!! My sort-of alma mater!

You don't get Leftier than that.

Phil 314 said...

Deborah;
c3, not a great Babs fan, but she's pretty good. There's much more chemistry between her and Bridges:

sorry I'd prefer Babs sing, not act. My case in point would be "Prince of Tides".

Once she starts acting you realize the key direction is all eyes MUST be on Babs. Hence you get Yentl with Babs acting and singing and Mandy Potemkin, a terrific singer, just acting.

Babs must NEVER be upstaged That was no sweat when the singer was Omar Sharif.

Phil 314 said...

Bloomie's hoping someone (many "ones") will eventually sing this about him.

(New York mayors are such lovable characters)

I'm Full of Soup said...

NYT gives Bloomber g a tongue bath. He is a "billionaire media mogul" and "the nation’s most prominent and wealthiest independent politician". I wonder if they would describe Rupert Murdock the same way?

Bloomberg urged "common sense to tackle complex economic problems."
Does that mean adding regulations re smoking in privately owned bars, and using salt on foods?

As Trooper might say, I think Bloomie is an arrogant douche- nozzle. And we don't need another arrogant SOB in the White House.

Phil 314 said...

sorry Mandy, you're not a battleship, you're a singer (i.e. Patinkin)

ricpic said...

I don't know how the presidency could be a step up for Bloomy given that his daughter falls off horses on a regular basis, the true mark of royalty.

SteveR said...

"No Trans Fat in Any Pot"

Phil 314 said...

OK I'm piling on now but this and this demonstrate my point.

Babs, enough with the preaching! Just shut up and sing

Joe said...

(The Crypto Jew)


“Every Man a Serf”, or “A Place For Every man and Every Man in His Place.”

Original Mike said...

President Bloomberg? God help us.

Unknown said...

deborah said...

Yentl!

Mentl!!

(as I believe Joe Piscopo once observed)

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I get it..

Something about the ship of state..

Wasn't it Bloomberg who wanted to use old mothballed pleasure cruise ships to house inmates?

lemondog said...

Sharif was Christian born.

I'm Full of Soup said...

Obama and the Dems overreached and tried to expand govt from too big to ginormous. The 2012 election will be between a big govt candidate and a less govt candidate. There is no way Bloomberg wins in that scenario.

Cedarford said...

Hard to overlook Bloomberg is a multibillionaire because he owns Bloomberg Financial News - another organization that completely missed the financial mess his own "Tribe" was heavily involved in creating, right under Bloomie and his media empires nose.

A nice place to start with a recovery would be declaring that Bloomberg News and he personally, will never again be so derelict in oversight.

As was, no group made out as well from the meltdown as the "too big to fail so give us mega Federal Gov't bailout money!" players in Bloomberg's social set.

tim maguire said...

I love James Lileks' characterization of Michael Bloomberg as the leader of the Bloomberg wing of the Bloomberg party.

I know NYT writers tend to be provincial New Yorkers, but for even them to think that Bloomberg has a snowball's chance in national politics strains credulity.

Phil 314 said...

c4;
Hard to overlook Bloomberg is a multibillionaire because he owns Bloomberg Financial News - another organization that completely missed the financial mess his own "Tribe" was heavily involved in creating

You and Mick never miss an opportunity, do you...

Can't see beyond your own "tribe", can you.

I'm Full of Soup said...

BTW is there a C1 or a C2? Just realized we have a C3 and a C4.

Penny said...

"Mr. Bloomberg, 68, the nation’s most prominent and wealthiest independent politician, has repeatedly ruled out running for president in 2012, saying his chances of victory are too slim."

At least he's realistic about the odds of winning a presidential election. No sense in getting "in" if you can't "win".

Revenant said...

his own "Tribe"

White people?

Humperdink said...

"The No Salt and Pie Party." Or the No Salt and Fry Party.

Is it only me that looks at Bloomie and sees the biggest dud east of the Mississippi. The guy has the charisma of a stop sign. The New York version of Ross Perot.

damikesc said...

Outside of the NYC press, does anybody want to deal with that useless shit, Nurse Bloomberg?

This is a case of "You know, the media might be too centered in one city".

Bloomberg might be the least electable person in America.

Phil 314 said...

BTW is there a C1 or a C2?

Older models; no longer in production.

In a related question, there are Terminals 2, 3 and 4 at Sky Harbor Airport. What happened to #1?

Alex said...

Yet another uber-rich man who thinks he can buy the Presidency.

Emil Blatz said...

She's a blithering idiot, but she has pipes.

William said...

There was a fortuitous combination of circumstances that allowed him to buy the mayoralty the first time he ran for mayor. Perhaps the stars will align again. He is more liberal than a Republican and more prudent than a Democrat, and God knows there are many people who consider Obama and Palin unacceptable. With a billion dollar ad campaign, many things are possible.

jungatheart said...

c3:
"Babs must NEVER be upstaged That was no sweat when the singer was Omar Sharif."

Oh, whatever. I think she's a pretty decent actress in some movies, such as 'The Owl and the Pussycat,' with George Segal. Saw the last third of Yentl, and boy, was that dumb. I thought she was good in 'Mirror Has Two Faces, except for the horrific 'make-over' at the end. Newsflash, Babs, you looked better before. Never saw Prince of Tides. Can't handle really emotionally powerful/manipulative movies. Also, she was a lot of fun when we were kids in movies like Hello Dolly and Funny Girl. Anyway, it's not acting with her, but a schtick.

Revenant said...

Whenever the news media describe a politician's remarks as "a stinging critique", I always wonder "stinging to who, exactly"?

Who hears a politician talking smack about them and thinks "I, personally, am hurt by those remarks"?