Metro

Mike’s crumbling empire

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“It’s water over the dam, under the bridge,” Mayor Bloomberg said in ducking a question about Cathie Black. But for that to be true, Bloomberg must turn the end of her tenure into a jump-start of his own.

If he does, he will have a chance to save his third term and the city’s shaky finances. If he doesn’t, spendthrift politicians already inside the gates are certain to usher in an era of decline.

Bloomberg’s choice of Black as schools chancellor was a mistake, yet replacing her with Deputy Mayor Dennis Walcott can only go so far in repairing the damage to his own reputation.

That’s because Black’s hiring took on a symbolic meaning far greater than the job itself. The secretive, unpopular choice of someone who was too far outside the box opened a window into Bloomberg’s state of mind.

It wasn’t a pretty picture. Starting with his manipulation of the term-limits law, Bloomy has been erratic. Even more telling than scandals like CityTime, the mayor is too flip about public concern.

After Christmas weekend in Bermuda, he returned to a snowbound Gotham to scold New Yorkers for complaining about the lack of plows and told them to go see a Broadway show. Maybe they should eat cake, too.

Through his discipline and the persistence of talented staffers, Bloomberg mostly kept that imperious persona hidden for eight years. But the third term, staffed with a third team, has worked on him like a bottle of wine: It loosened his tie and his tongue.

He acts as if the job is somewhere between an entitlement and a consolation prize and that he can do it on automatic pilot. He’s tuned out dissent and, in trickle-down fashion, some aides assumed a license to distort facts and trample truth.

But all is not lost — yet. For if Black was the biggest symbol of drift, Bloomberg’s willingness to sack his friend might signal a “reset” in his attitude.

At the very least, it is a reassertion of power. Had he let Black continue to flounder out of loyalty or inertia, he would have squandered even more political capital on her. By cutting his losses, he suggests he is not ready to accept life as a lame duck.

But even allies believe it’s only a start. “He needs to re-establish control of the third term,” says one insider. “Fixing the Black mistake won’t be enough. He’s got to build on it. Otherwise, it will fade away.”

I agree, and the real test remains whether Bloomberg keeps his vow to fix the pension system crushing city finances. It won’t be easy, especially as the 2013 mayoral race draws near.

Already, the rising tide of red ink, combined with a gaggle of cowardly pols, is more than worrisome. Like the Legislature, most members of the City Council seem hellbent to destroy the jobs base of the middle class with their giveaways and roadblocks to growth. They would eat the golden goose for a snack and worry about the eggs tomorrow.

The city and state controllers are showing a disturbing eagerness to pander to unions. Instead of being fiscal hawks guarding taxpayer dollars, Democrats John Liu and Tom DiNapoli are abdicating in a shameful bid to curry favor. Liu has been especially disingenuous in denying the truth about pensions.

Bloomberg is also out of sync with Gov. Cuomo, though not all of it is the mayor’s fault. Cuomo has a similar agenda and problems yet is eager to separate himself from Bloomberg on some union issues. Like most mayors and governors, they are probably fated to be frenemies.

All of which means that even a re-engaged Bloomberg will not find smooth sledding. But he knew that when he ran for the third term, so now’s the time to heed the advice he gives new hires: Don’t screw it up.

As bam’s world churns

While Washington was fixated on a possible government shutdown, more important things were pushed out of sight and out of mind. Consider a few:

Libya is grinding to a stalemate, with our top commander saying there is a “low likelihood” rebels will topple Moammar Khadafy. Gen. Carter Ham told the Senate “one potential outcome” is that ground forces would be needed and American troops might be involved.

That contradicts President Obama’s promise of “no boots on the ground” and Defense Secretary Robert Gates’ insistence there would be no soldiers in Libya “as long as I am in this job.”

Elsewhere, a Hamas missile hit an Israeli school bus, injuring one student, and Israel retaliated with airstrikes that killed at least 17, sparking fears of a new war.

The government in Yemen is collapsing, and the White House, instead of seeing the downside in a nation where al Qaeda claims control of at least one province, is pushing a sometime ally to the exits.

Brave Syrians are challenging their despotic rulers, yet Washington offers no encouragement even as thugs slaughter demonstrators. We may be missing a chance at regime change in a nation with close ties to Iran.

The mullahs are using the chaos to continue the march to nukes. Dissidents discovered what they say is a new factory that makes parts for centrifuges, and Russia announced it had resumed loading fuel into Iran’s first nuclear plant.

Saudi Arabia is so angry at Obama’s abandonment of Hosni Mubarak in Egypt that it sent an emissary to China and Russia to improve relations. It also sent troops to Bahrain to put down demonstrations.

Oh, yes, Japan continued its meltdown, and China released pictures of its first aircraft carrier.

Stench on the bench in B’klyn

If federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis had a reality show, it would be called “Judge Gone Wild.” Or maybe “America’s Most Arrogant Judge.”

Reality in Garaufis’ Brooklyn courtroom is anything but funny. He is trying to dictate FDNY hiring, turning a flimsy racial-discrimination claim into a personal crusade against City Hall and taxpayers.

Another trip out of line featured a blistering tirade against a potential juror in a murder case. The young Asian woman said on a questionnaire that she doesn’t like “African Americans, Hispanics and Haitians” and thinks all cops are lazy.

Those are despicable sentiments but no cause for a judicial tantrum in open court. Garaufis called the woman “an outrage,” accused her of lying to get out of the trial and ordered her to return for jury duty every day until “I am ready to dismiss her.”

Compare that to his kid-glove treatment of the thug on trial. Garaufis ordered that Bonanno boss Vincent Basciano, already serving life for other crimes, get a full wardrobe selection before court each day.

When marshals forgot to include a tie, Garaufis provided one and said Basciano could “return it to me at the end of the trial.”

How charming — and creepy.

Garaufis is not fit to be a judge.

Hefty helping of tasty irony

Leroy Comrie, the supersized councilman from Queens, is confused. To prevent childhood obesity, he wants to force McDonald’s to stop including toys in Happy Meals. Maybe he believes it’s the toys that pack on the pounds!