Mike Bloomberg Like, So Sorry You Had To Sit In The Dark For A Week. Not.

114

abalk2

07/27/06 03:20PM

Filed to: Mike Bloomberg

This image was lost some time after publication, but you can still view it here.

Mike Bloomberg does sarcasm:

"I think in retrospect I probably made one mistake here," Mr. Bloomberg said, as dozens of reportorial ears suddenly pricked up. "The mistake I made was not going out and irresponsibly attacking a company that as far as I can tell had an accident that befell them that they didn't deliberately cause and I didn't go and scream at them in a ways that would keep them from focusing on doing what they should have done, returning the power as quickly as possible."

Were we to do sarcasm, we'd suggest that the mayor look toward his native Boston, where public officials take the fall for terrible events that occur upon their watch, but we're not those kind of people. Also, we're trying to save energy in case our power goes out.

Bloomberg's Mea Culpa (Almost)
[NYT]
Mass. 'Big Dig' chair to step down after collapse [Reuters]

The following replies are approved. To see additional replies that are pending approval, click Show Pending. Warning: These may contain graphic material.

jmchez abalk2 07/27/06 03:17PM

I'm with Twizzlers here. Bombastic, saliva spewing pols demanding heads on a platter may appeal to angry voters but it's the adults like Bloomberg that have to deal with the problem.

Asking that Burke, the CEO of Con Ed, resign would do squat to get the situation fixed. Burke would have to be replaced by someone who, at best, right now is doing something else and has to get up to speed or, at worst, doesn't know what the hell is going on and would be worse than Burke.

Burke's real punishment is going to happen when the costs for this fiasco come in. Whether the Con Ed board cuts his bonus or not, the value of that package will go down if the Con Ed stock does not recover.

There's one guy whose is head can be said to be on the block, the Con Ed VP for operations in Queens. That is, unless he convinces Burke that he performed heroically in trying to get the power back on. If he does that he can expect a reward, if not, he might find himself as head of manhole maintenance.

Twizzlers For President abalk2 07/27/06 02:43PM

Okay so I commented on this before, and I should shut up, but I do think his sarcasm is dead on. Maybe the blackout was an accident or maybe it WAS ConEd's fault, but what the fuck is the point of calling for the CEO to resign before you know at least that much? Borough politicians can be more caterwauly and ignorant than Britney Spears on Matt Lauer.

Valerie Flame abalk2 07/27/06 05:23PM

Lost are several points: A) Romney had been trying for YEARS to oust Amorello - Romney had planned to take control of the agency's board and was prepared to veto part of the state budget to do so the night of the accident; B) these specific faults in the Big Dig construction - the fact that the bolts would not hold - had been identified in 1999 and ignored; and C) a woman DIED as a result.

But who cares about facts. Plus this is all to policy-ish and real debate-sounding. Let's see some heads roll!

Big Girl Panties abalk2 07/27/06 04:25PM

i gotta agree with lefty. i got fired from vogue for at best, screwing up my boss' schedule. at the very least, the CEO should have some sort of suspension. when you fuck up, accidentally or not, you pay the consequences. us entry level, middle men have to.