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May 9, 2007
The Mystery of Michael Bloomberg
Why does a popular but mediocre mayor think he should run for president?
The Weekly Standard
by Fred Siegel & Michael Goodwin
There is a stunning disconnect between Michael Bloomberg's modest accomplishments as mayor of New York and his elevation to a figure worthy of presidential consideration--albeit as an independent candidate.
In an accounting of the Mayor's actual accomplishments, Bruce Ratner's controversial Atlantic Yards plan is getting recognition for just about everything wrong in public policy and urban development:
It's safe to say Bloomberg will never be confused with Fiorello LaGuardia. When it comes to holding people accountable, Bloomberg seems to have taken lessons from George W. Bush.
At a time when Brooklyn is experiencing a private sector housing boom, the same businessman mayor who tried to give away valuable Manhattan property for a song has supported a half-billion dollars in direct and indirect subsidies for the Atlantic Yards apartment, office, and arena complex in Brooklyn being built by fellow fat cat and subsidy king Bruce Ratner.
Here's reaction from someone that has been paying attention:
The Albany Project, Sharpton on Bloomberg: "Ross Perot with a resume'."
I don't mean to say that the man has never done anything worthy of praise - I'm actually a big fan of his PlaNYC - but, I think that the claim that Bloomberg is a "progressive" is laughable. I've got too many friends who found that the Bill of Rights had been suspended for a week in the summer of '04 to believe such nonsense. I also fail to see the "progressive" dimension of steamrolling my Community Board's plan for our neighborhood to allow his developer friends to drive my neighbors from their homes. I've lost the progressive virtues of shutting two firehouses in my neighborhood while throwing public money at a new Yankee stadium. I fail to see the "progressive" nature of the west side stadium or the the eminent domain driven madness of Ratnerville. But, then again, what do I know?
Posted by lumi at May 9, 2007 10:05 AM