You know, if the main selling point on this whole "Mike Bloomberg for President" thing is that the guy is such a genius at running things, you've got to wonder what the hell he was thinking with the way he managed this whole congestion pricing plan. The plan - which would have charged motorists entering Manhattan during peak hours anywhere from $8 to $21 for freight carriers - died yesterday after Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver declined to reconvene his chamber, and Senate Democrats figured that if the Assembly wasn't going to stick their neck out, why should they? The mayor comes off sounding a lot like Governor Spitzer.

The pundits have had their say on whether or not Mike Bloomberg can be elected president. Now it's time to see what real New Yorkers think about the whole thing. The Assimilated Negro and Richard Blakeley canvass the voters.

The BBC on Mike Bloomberg's possible presidential campaign: "The rumour has been tickling Washington's political gonads for months now." [BBC]

"It's the Republican National Committee. They're calling to say thanks."

Mike Bloomberg, the Democrat who turned Republican because he wanted to be mayor and anyone with a valid New York address could have beaten Herman Badillo, has renounced his ties to the G.O.P. in yet another "subtle" signal that, hey, he might be running for president. The move allows the mayor to skirt some pesky state ballot issues concerning candidates affiliated with the two major parties. Apart from that whole "this is what you will eat, this is how you shall live" thing (oh, and the billions of dollars with which he flooded Republican party coffers), we're not averse to the mayor: He's probably been the most efficient city executive of the last fifty years. But come on, what is he thinking? This is supposed to be a sharp-eyed businessman with a keen sense of what works: Does he really think America wants a Ross Perot with less crazy but more Jew? There's no chance. The guy only got elected in the first place due to the uncertainty after 9/11; you only get one of those in a lifetime. Uh, we hope.

We give the mayor a lot of guff because we feel he is sort of the living embodiment of someone who has so much more money than you that he can tell you (and, by extension, your whole ill-informed class) how you should live your life and—even worse—he has the juice to make it stick. Still, there are certain times when we can't help liking the guy. Take yesterday, when he was asked about the half-assed plot to blow up the fuel lines at JFK:

Mayor Bloomberg's presidential campaign continues its early strategy of Mike swearing up and down that he's not running while his aides and associates provide the press anonymous confirmations that he sure as heck is. The latest gambit: "Personal friends" of the mayor told the Washington Times that he's "prepared to spend an unprecedented $1 billion of his own $5.5 billion personal fortune for a third-party presidential campaign." That's a significant chunk of change and raises the prospect of a three-way race between a cousin-fucking associate of known criminals with an authoritarian streak, a tiny Jew with a Boston accent and a penchant for telling you what you're not allowed to put in your mouth, and a cold, controlling Senator from a liberal Northeastern state (or a semi-liberal Midwestern state, or a semi-conservative Southern state, depending on the day) who, in spite of everything, would be the only candidate still in her first marriage. Oh or maybe the black guy who smokes. He's fun, but we're starting to regret saying all those bad things about Canada.

More excitement in the battle between Bloomberg and Vanity Fair to see who can host the more fabulous after party for this weekend's White House Correspondents' Association Dinner. Sure, Vanity Fair is offering Christopher Hitchens and all the alcohol he doesn't drink himself, but the Bloomberg bash will feature both pigs in a blanket and, possibly, our mayor-king himself! While the Bloomberg party is famously a snooze—and really, who wants to stand on the pavement smoking while the host gives you dirty looks from inside, a la Tina Brown's—consider this: "Bloomberg is proud to boast that its dozen toilets should better accommodate guests than the two bathrooms Hitchens' house reportedly has for its 100-plus guests." Plus, you know that Hitch is gonna be puking in one of them. Maybe the best choice is no choice at all.

Take care the next time you sneak your videocamera into a movie theater to illegally bootleg a first-run feature: The City Council has passed legislation raising the fine for such behavior to $5000. In addition, Variety reports that the mayor

Times reportorial machine Sewell Chan takes a look Mayor Bloomberg's response to the criticism he's received for failing to suspend alternate side of the street parking rules after this week's storm. The mayor seemed a little disgruntled with the disgruntlement: "It was easy to move your car. I don't like to get up early in the morning and have to do anything, either. I'd like to sleep in, too." The mayor closed the press conference with a spirited impression of griping citizens: "This is you: 'Waaaah, waaaah, waaaah, I have to move my car!' Grow a goddamned pair already. You're supposed to be New Yorkers; you're whining like a bunch of bitches from Boston. You sicken me."

Rudy Giuliani made an appearance on "Today" this morning to discuss President Bush's State of the Union address. The appearance fueled speculation that - holy crap, did he have some kind of eye job? Watch this brief clip from the interview and see if you can count how many times his peepers pop out or blink. He's definitely looking a little softer around the edges. It's kind of creepy. Okay, it's a lot creepy.

There's an anecdote which we barely recall concerning Ed Koch's tenure as mayor. Some crank was yelling at him at a public function, and Koch sidled over to the guy and very casually whispered, "Fuck you" into his ear. The protestor, of course, went crazy, yelling, "The mayor said 'Fuck you!'" over and over until he was escorted from the premises. We were reminded of this story by an anecdote in Post gossip dowager Cindy Adams' column today: Apparently, this is how the current mayor handles hecklers:

We can empathize with anyone being made to sit through a shitstorm of racial comments in the workplace, but sometimes it's a little much, even for us. Maybe Russians are "bad drinkers," and most Hispanics will, in fact, steal your car, but professionals shouldn't have to listen to crap like this in the haughty environs of Bear Stearns.

Truly, it's the most wonderful time of year! Pretty lights twinkle down Fifth Avenue, ice skaters hold hands, couples cuddle over cups of cocoa, and, under the influence of this holiday cheer (or a few flutes of sparkling wine), politicians and the press, like lions and lambs, make peace to make party. Last night, we sent walking tragedy AngelinaWilliams and Gakwer shutterstud Nikola Tamindzic up to the New York Palace Hotel to witness this sign of the Apocalypse, also known as the New York Press Club's Holiday Party. Singing clerics can be found after the jump.

Reporting wunderkind Sewell Chan notes the following quote from Mayor Bloomberg in the current New York mag profile: "What chance does a five-foot-seven billionaire Jew who's divorced really have of becoming president?" Chan compares this with earlier accounts that put the mayor's height at 5-feet-10. (We've seen the mayor and, uh, no.) There's an editor's note at the end of the piece stating that "The author of this story is no taller than 5 feet, 7 inches." Which got us wondering: Who are the tallest and shortest figures in New York media? Since we try to avoid the parties, we're not sure: Help us out. Does Joe Dolce bestride the earth like some giant douchebag colossus? Is Elizabeth Spiers really as tiny as she looks in print? Who's more vertical, Frank Bruni or Frank Rich? This is important stuff, people. Make us proud on this one and we'll move on to cock size. Thanks.

Mayor Bloomberg, overheard at a Brooklyn event yesterday: "If I played golf as well as I run the city, I'd be on the PGA tour."

Mayor Bloomberg made it clear yesterday that, despite rumors to the contrary, he has no plans to sell his 72% stake in Bloomberg News, the financial services company on which he built his fortune. The Times sees it as an indication that the mayor has no plans to run for President, but quotes Republican political consultant Ed Koch as saying that ownership in the company would be no impediment to a race for the Oval Office. Us, we kind of admire the mayor's style: Guy's still driving around in a 2001 Lexus and he leaves $12 billion on the table? That's the kind of thing the little people appreciate.

• Mayor's car jacked, aide beaten. Bloomy wishes Arnie were still in town, regrets sending employee to Jersey. [WCBS]
  

The photo above comes from a recent Israeli newspaper story suggesting that Mayor Bloomberg is looking to buy "a luxurious penthouse in the "Jerusalem of Gold" project on Rabbi Akiva Street." The New York Sun, monitor of all things Jew-related, reports this morning that the story is untrue; Bloomberg isn't considering buying any property in Israel. And the original article leaves room for the rowback:

[T]here has been a complete scientific study - from Mount Sinai research that shows that at least 70 percent of the thousands who labored at Ground Zero as first responders reported, and proved, that they had awful trouble breathing or worse.