Mayor Michael Bloomberg Called Short-Tempered, Scolding, Even Petulant By New York Times

The New York Times has a scathing character report on New York's Mayor Michael Bloomberg's temper.

Mr. Bloomberg is often a man of quaint politeness in public. But in recent days, as he has endured setbacks on projects crucial to his legacy, another Michael Bloomberg has spilled into view: short-tempered, scolding, even petulant.

The mayor has watched the collapse of his congestion pricing proposal and the blocking of his plan to link teacher tenure to student test scores. He is hoping a revived deal to develop the far West Side of Manhattan, another crucial part of his vision for transforming the city, can become a reality.

Comments

[CommanderWhitehead]

Cut the man some slack, for heaven's sake!

after all, was it not the great Howard Hughes who once said that the best thing about being a millionaire (billionaire, in Bloomberg's case) is the fact that you can tell anyone you want
to go fu*k themselves...or words to that effect.

[Horst]

He's been a great mayor....while the Times remains a boring newspapaper.

[HermioneGranger]

Yes! Yes! Yes!

[loudspeaker]

Bloomberg should stop being a prick and fix the pot holes in New York.

[hugs4u]

Leave Mayor Bloomberg alone, he is the one who will kick Hillary butt out of the Senate and back into the shadows.

[mirza]

and the NYT is increasingly irrelevant

[qdemn7]

So Bloomberg is finally showing his true self? Good, this lets everyone show just how much of a jerk this man really is, no matter how sucessful. I despise Bloomberg for anti-gun crap. I'm glad he is getting slapped down in any way, shape, fashion or form.

[longnow]

They'll take away you guuuuuns over your dead body
and no one will ever accuse Bloomberg of having
bullets for brains.

[SmokinJobaman]

Why are our politics constantly reduced to image and innuendo? We haven't read anything about Bloomberg's actual proposals here, but we're apparently going to hear all about his behavior in response to the failure of the policies. In a microcosm, this illustrates every thing that is wrong with our political discourse in this country. It shouldn't be about style -- it should be about substance.

[nyckingpin]

Bloomberg is a prick.

[nikto]

Obama is crazy and foolish if he selects Bloomberg for his VP candidate.

I've got to think he's smarter than to put a major Corporatist on the ticket with him.

His VP should be someone MORE LIBERAL than he, like Edwards or DEAN.

Then people will be forced to see Obama as the relative moderate he actually is.

[longnow]

Bloomberg is too old and with health problems. He should pick Howard Dean.
"Corporatist" ? That say more about you than him.

[WarriorLemming]

Hell no, I would hate to see Sen. Obama pick Bloomberg that is so out of left field, anyway. I would rather he choose, Jim Webb that feels more comfortable to me and for all the right reasons such as his military experience and southern roots.

[nikto]

Bloomberg is simply a Corporatist, and The People are starting to get real,
REAL suspicious of the motives of ANY Corporatist in governing their lives.

Actually, as Corporatists go, Bloomberg is one of the very very few "semi-decent" ones.

But he is STILL a Corporatist, and, as such, is still a potential threat to the livelihoods
of millions of regular people.

To just give ONE example, Bloomberg wants to PRIVATIZE Public Schools (but never admits to it).

This will destroy the Public Schools as we know them, and create a degraded, for-profit system which citizens will eventually pay "out-of-pocket" for, at least in part.
The less-rich a family is, the more this will hurt them.

There are dozens of other issues where Corporatists are at odds
with average Americans (despite the nonstop media propaganda to the contrary).

Americans are waking up to the fact, that SOME OF OUR BIG CORPORATIONS HAVE BECOME A THREAT TO AMERICA VIA THEIR USURPATION OF POLITICAL POWER.

Bloomberg is just feeling the embryonic beginning of the anti-corporate backlash to come.

[CaseyBabes]

Sounds like hizzoner is acting like any other manager who does not suffer fools lightly. So he gets pissed, bfd. Take a look around and see how good he has been for NYC, then call appropriate names......if you can.

[Melissa]

I grew up in NYC and have not lived there in 25 years. It will always be home and every time I go back to visit it is even better. I think Bloomberg has done a magnificant job and like a typical New Yorker he speaks his mind. It is also very obvious that he truly loves NY.

[iemmathu]

Bloomberg is despicable and opportunistic, he changed parties three times so he could get elected.

Bloomberg lobbied to bring the RNC to NYC for thier convention in 2004.

He put the area around Madison Square Garden on lock down for over a week, then ordered the arrest of
thousands of people protesting George Bush's re-election and war. Not only that, but he made sure they stayed in jail until after the RNC closed shop.

I am no fan of Bloomberg, and I certainly hope Obama does not name this wolf in sheep's clothing as his VP.

[radicalcentrist44]

And why is this bad? He is getting the job done in a city that was once un-governable. Good job.

[loudspeaker]

There are more homeless people in NYC than in a long time and Bloomberg has cut down on help for them. That's fascism. Remember that a lot of fascist leaders "get the job done". If you get the job done at the expense of vulnerable people that's very evil.

[campgranata]

a politician responding honestly and appropriately; Call Ripley's.

[ewj1]

Who cares if he as a temper. Is he right should be the question.

[wmbear]

AND DON'T FORGET...

Bo-ring.

[longislandlol]

I don't want to get into trouble here,but here is a truism-- and please, please don't take offense if you're Jewish or African-American ( I am Jewish-- support Obama- and have a lot of Black friends) -but here's the but--- we are more than ready for change in our great land, but having a Jew run on the same ticket with an African-American---- one thinks ---not--

[wmbear]

DON'T WORRY...

Obama can't stand bores....

[lisakaz2]

I wonder if they don't like him now because he left the GOP.

[LeftLeanWing]

This little midget is a billionaire..... Yeah , I expect - no- I want him to be a petulant prick. All of us can't be nice and pleasant so people will LIKE you.

Give me a Pitbull to run a City instead of a Yapping Jack Russell

[Americanium]

Lets see...McCain gets angry when he sees waste. Par for the course at NYT.
Bloomberg gets angry when his projects are stalled. NYT writes about it.

No wonder this rag is becoming fish wrapper.

[lisakaz2]

Hence my comment. The GOPer is excused. Open season on the I.

[Nobuks]

Reached for comment, Mike retorted: "why those bastards! Just for that I'm going to buy that newspaper, fire those reporters and turn the NYT into a weekly bargain finder paper!".

[HarlemFreeThought]

Michael Bloomberg may be a great mayor for mega-buck real-estate developers, corporations, and his rich society amigos like Amanda Burden.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanda_Burden

There are many shortcomings attached to his administration. Bloomberg has favored real-estate developers throughout the five boroughs.
http://www.nolandgrab.org/archives/2005/05/dddb_press_rele_7.html
The enclaves of Brooklyn, Harlem, and Queens are targets of Land Grabs and emanate domain, displacing to residents and small business.

He has turned deaf, dumb, and blind about Slush gate scandal festering in the New York City Council.
http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2008/05/quinn-grilled-at-crains.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/17/nyregion/17miller.html?bl&ex=1211169600&en=a764d9dbcd4dcc63&ei=5087%0A

And has stalled initiatives regarding the homeless population
http://www.coalitionforthehomeless.org

Giuliani was the law and order mayor, Bloomberg the Money mayor¦what"s next for the rich Apple?

[Hagrid]

Errrrrm. Does that stop him from being a billionare?

[mudfiles]

The New York Times has officially blurred the line between reporting news and reporting their opinions. Between Kristol, the firings, and the suspiciously premature endorsement of Clinton before the South Carolina Primary, they are gradually losing relevance and journalistic integrity.

While the Republican brand continues to take a hit, they still, somehow, maintain a strong hold on American media. Meanwhile, the Liberal media is going down the drain.

[mbrownNY]

I cancelled my NYT subscription about two years ago when I couldn't stand their pro-Bush coverage of the Iraqi war. The "paper of record" is slowly turning into the NY Post. At least we still have the Washington Post - and the BBC.

[lisakaz2]

I guess no one bothered to correct that stooge Kristol since it was "opinion."

[mbrownNY]

Bloomberg has been a very effective mayor. We got a lot of the good from the Gulliani reign without all the fascism. Bloomberg is trying to make the city green and pedestrian-friendly - check out all the new pedestrian plazas and greenways the DOT is implementing. Yes, he's trying to redevelop certain neighborhoods (those that really need it), but he's trying to preserve others (e.g. keeping corporations out of Coney Island). Who can blame him if he's a bit pissy that the state (not New York City residents), keep getting in his way of making NYC a more European-like city!

[hypnotoad72]

I'd read up on his taxi initiative and that alone was impressive; I should read up more - he sounds like a really great man, deserving of awards. There are people out there who make money saying "Do something!" while doing nothing in reality, and this Mayor, Bloomberg, would rather just do something in the first place.

He might not end up working with Obama, but he's a very respectable person. Period.

[Ramus]

Agreed mbrownNY. I think he's been a terrific mayor. He is trying to get things done but is meeting resistance from entrached parties.. The congestion pricing idea was a good one..the tree planting is great.. The teachers union has many good teachers and some not so good.. Performace testing is important but not popular with the teachers union. The stadium idea on the west side is not a good idea unless everybody can get there by subway. He can be grumpy if he wants to be (he doesn't need to be nice to donors since he does not need donors)...at least we don't get fake plastic smiles from him. You get what you see with Bloomberg. He's smart but a bit prickly. Rudy was nasty and not so smart.