Good god. I thought Bloomberg was just a conspicuous and powerful jerk.

[Smarmie Doofus]

Turns out he's an *idiot* as well.

So what's the answer? Should we really turn the nation's largest school system over to him?

This is the essence of Obamaduncanism. Duncan says Bloomberg-style mayoral PS control is the model he wants the nation to follow. Wresting control from elected school boards and turning the systems over to to Bloomberg and mini-Bloombergs.

Our model's been running into difficulty lately... PR wise... notwithstanding outrageously favorable coverage in the local $$$ media... his very millieu. ( The above got a quickie notice in the NYT hard copy and was nearly impossible to locate it in the e-version. But find it I did.)It could be he's losing it; could be he never had "it" to begin with. ( Probably closer to the truth, one suspects.)

So... perhaps Obamaduncanism has some fatal flaws?

http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/10/irish-eyes-not-smiling-over-bloomberg-remark/?ref=nyregion


Irish Eyes Not Smiling Over Bloomberg Remark
By JAVIER C. HERNANDEZ

Robert Stolarik for The New York Times

Mayor Bloomberg at a St. Patrick’s Day parade in Queens in 2009.The gathering was meant to be a carefree celebration of the city’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade. But it took a different tone when Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg made some off-the-cuff remarks.

The mayor, speaking at the American Irish Historical Society on Wednesday night, said he was used to seeing “people that are totally inebriated hanging out the window” at the society.


“I know, that’s a stereotype of the Irish,” Mr. Bloomberg added, “but nevertheless, we Jews from around the corner think this.” (The society’s headquarters are a short stroll from the mayor’s town house on the Upper East Side.)

Mr. Bloomberg’s comments elicited a mixture of laughter, boos and moans from the crowd of about 100. A report in Irish Central, an Irish-American news site, said the audience was “astonished.”

John Dunleavy, the chairman of the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, said the mayor’s words were “outrageous and totally uncalled for.”

Christine C. Quinn, the City Council speaker and the granddaughter of Irish immigrants, called them “surprising and inappropriate.”

Christopher Cahill, the executive director of the society, said he did not believe that Mr. Bloomberg meant to offend. Still, Mr. Cahill said, “there were many people in the audience who would have felt that they were not the remarks that would have been expected.”

Mr. Bloomberg has built strong ties with Irish-Americans. He has traveled to Ireland several times and has won allies with his advocacy for immigrants’ rights.

On Thursday, the mayor, no stranger to putting his foot in his mouth, offered a formal apology, explaining that he was referring to the society’s annual St. Patrick’s Day party.

“It’s traditional to hang out the window and yell and scream, and it’s all in good fun,” Mr. Bloomberg said. “I certainly didn’t mean anything that anybody should take offense to.”

[rurallib]

1. it is so odd to hear stereotypes I haven't heard in 50 years

making their way back into the mainstream.
I once thought this country was headed forward into a great future. I was dreaming I guess.
Happy Birthday Ron Reagan! You made this acceptable.

[Smarmie Doofus]

5. And we're seeing an economic arrangement we haven't seen in a HUNDRED years......

I wonder if there could be a connection there.


Hmmm........

[Renew Deal]

2. Sounds like a badly conceived joke

I don't think he meant harm.

[Smarmie Doofus]

3. I'm Irish. Bloomberg's a badly conceived joke.

A human practical joke.

With catastrophic consequences.

[Dappleganger]

4. The mayor is a 1st-class prick...

the only thing he ever means is to prop himself up on the backs of other people.