New York Times Editorial - Bloomberg, on everything
Bloomberg, on everything
Copyright by The New York Times
Published: June 19, 2006
New York mayors like Ed Koch and Rudy Giuliani weren't always easy to live with, but they were never boring. When voters elected Michael Bloomberg, however, they opted for calm and competence, even if it meant forgoing the color. Imagine our surprise then, when the button-down chief executive suddenly became the master of the explosive sound bite.
On gun-control legislation on Capitol Hill: "God-awful."
On so-called intelligent design theory: "Creationism by another name."
On politicians who "equivocate," or parse their position on a woman's right to choose an abortion: "On this issue, you are either with us or you're not. Period. You can't have it both ways."
On illegal immigration: "We're not going to deport 12 million people, so let's stop this fiction."
On stem-cell research, the mayor punctuated his support with a $100 million donation for projects at Johns Hopkins University.
Bloomberg may have just been waiting until he got the hang of the job before he let his inner pundit out and began commenting on national issues. It's hard to be eminently quotable when you're working on zoning or garbage removal. Now that he's in the last half of his term-limited mayoral career, perhaps he feels he has nothing to lose. As a Democrat who became a Republican when he ran for mayor in 2001, he doesn't really have a party platform to worry about.
It's particularly refreshing that Bloomberg is opinionating on domestic policy. When New York mayors wandered outside city limits in the past, they tended to start with Israel and end somewhere around Ireland.
The national reach of Bloomberg's agenda inevitably raises the issue of whether he aspires to mount a presidential bid, perhaps as an independent. He has an answer for that, too. "Which letter of the word 'no' do you not understand?" We're happy to take him at his word, and just enjoy the fireworks.
Copyright by The New York Times
Published: June 19, 2006
New York mayors like Ed Koch and Rudy Giuliani weren't always easy to live with, but they were never boring. When voters elected Michael Bloomberg, however, they opted for calm and competence, even if it meant forgoing the color. Imagine our surprise then, when the button-down chief executive suddenly became the master of the explosive sound bite.
On gun-control legislation on Capitol Hill: "God-awful."
On so-called intelligent design theory: "Creationism by another name."
On politicians who "equivocate," or parse their position on a woman's right to choose an abortion: "On this issue, you are either with us or you're not. Period. You can't have it both ways."
On illegal immigration: "We're not going to deport 12 million people, so let's stop this fiction."
On stem-cell research, the mayor punctuated his support with a $100 million donation for projects at Johns Hopkins University.
Bloomberg may have just been waiting until he got the hang of the job before he let his inner pundit out and began commenting on national issues. It's hard to be eminently quotable when you're working on zoning or garbage removal. Now that he's in the last half of his term-limited mayoral career, perhaps he feels he has nothing to lose. As a Democrat who became a Republican when he ran for mayor in 2001, he doesn't really have a party platform to worry about.
It's particularly refreshing that Bloomberg is opinionating on domestic policy. When New York mayors wandered outside city limits in the past, they tended to start with Israel and end somewhere around Ireland.
The national reach of Bloomberg's agenda inevitably raises the issue of whether he aspires to mount a presidential bid, perhaps as an independent. He has an answer for that, too. "Which letter of the word 'no' do you not understand?" We're happy to take him at his word, and just enjoy the fireworks.
posted by Carlos T Mock at 9:13 AM
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