It turns out that when they elected Bill de Blasio, New Yorkers got two mayors. One is transparent to a fault, the other is secretive and sneaky.
Transparent Bill parades his family in front of the cameras, turning his children, warts and all, into celebrities and political surrogates. He smooches First Lady Chirlane McCray in public, and she bares details of her lesbian past and problems in child-rearing. They get ready to move to Gracie Mansion by stacking their stuff in front of their Brooklyn house so passers-by can take it, or maybe just gawk at its ordinariness.
The mayor takes offense when his public airing of private laundry is portrayed as something other than absolutely wonderful, but he’s inadvertently proving that most pols are wise to keep their private lives private. Once you open the door, you can’t reasonably expect to control how others see you or complain about an invasion of privacy.
Sneaky Bill, the other mayor, clearly treasures privacy. Unfortunately, he slams the door when New Yorkers have a right to know what he’s doing.
The Post reported yesterday that he put the squeeze on Cablevision by going to a union rally Monday night — without putting the event on his schedule. The press and public were barred as the mayor reportedly told workers that “I’m with you every step of the way.”
The union, the Communication Workers of America, was an early supporter, and his support now smacks of a quid pro quo. Certainly, Cablevision sees it that way.
The company, in an era when crony capitalism turns most chief executives into quislings, bravely denounced the mayor’s appearance and his message.
It said de Blasio tried to get the firm to cave in to the union, adding, “He wanted his friends taken care of. We explained that we were following the process that the law demands.”
The New York Times revealed another Sneaky Bill moment, saying he showed up without public notice at a fund-raiser last month that benefited a new lobbying group. The Campaign for One
New York is run by his political strategists and is devoted to pushing his agenda, making it the political arm of City Hall. His effort to help it raise money from business owners looks like an end-run around the campaign-finance law.
The law, through contribution limits and disclosure requirements, is designed to keep influence peddlers from buying favors. The mayor’s presence could reasonably suggest to donors that they bought his attention, which is no doubt why the meeting was secret.
The mayor’s planned trip to Italy illustrates his odd judgment about the private and the public: He’s taking his family and three staff members. They’ll do sightseeing in Rome, Naples and Venice, visit relatives from his mother’s side — and meet with government officials.
The plans create potentially embarrassing moments for a mayor who aims hellfire and brimstone at income inequality. There is time set aside for Capri, the glitzy island paradise near Naples where the international 1 percent gathers. And the trip begins Friday, two days before Long Island Rail Road workers could go on strike.
Any contrasting images of the de Blasios at play with the swells in Italy with those of commuters sweltering on jammed buses could do more than ruin the mayor’s fun. It could remind New Yorkers that after Mayor Michael Bloomberg was slow to return to the city during a devastating blizzard, de Blasio was quick to pile on with criticism.
Then public advocate, he wrote Bloomy an accusatory letter demanding to know what went wrong. He eagerly made the letter public immediately, another example of how he’s Transparent Bill when it suits him.
Obama joking around
President Obama’s recent joke that the White House chef’s pies are so good they must contain crack cocaine was tasteless. But drugged-up pies could explain Press Secretary Josh Earnest’s wacky behavior.
Asked by a reporter whether global chaos was a result of administration policies, Earnest said, “There have been a number of situations in which you’ve seen this administration intervene in a meaningful way, that has substantially furthered American interests and substantially improved the, uh, you know, the — the tranquility of the global community.”
Any more “tranquility” like this and the world will be kaput.
The ‘peace’ that leads to wars
After nearly 35 years of hostility, Iran and the United States are singing from the same page. They’re united in trying to fool the American public.
Approaching the July 20 deadline for reaching a permanent deal on Iran’s nuclear program, officials from both countries are talking up the mullahs’ sudden “flexibility.” The p.r. campaigns could make any deal sound like a breakthrough for which Americans should be grateful.
Count me out, especially if the terms let Iran keep all or most of its centrifuges. Depending on the amount and level of enrichment, that would put the terrorist state near the “breakout” phase, where it could quickly move to make a nuclear bomb.
That would lead other nations in the Mideast to go nuclear, and likely lead to a nuclear war within a few years.
The problem is that President Obama is willing to accept a face-saving deal so he won’t have to take military action. The irony is that the sanctions he boasted about brought Iran to the table, but now could be lifted without achieving anything of substance.
Even worse, a bad deal makes America and its European partners complicit in an Iranian bomb.
The whole episode recalls Europe’s appeasement of Hitler. The leaders of Great Britain and others so feared his intentions that they allowed themselves to believe his promises of peace.
But any piece of paper he signed was a stalling technique until he was ready to strike. Substitute Iran for Germany, and the worst kind of history may be on the verge of repeating itself.
Hamas exposed
The Palestinian decision to reject Egyptian efforts to broker peace with Israel could mark a turning point in the region. Egyptian TV commentators, in addition to praising the peace effort, which clearly favored Israel, can be seen on YouTube ridiculing Hamas leaders as fat, corrupt cowards who send other people’s sons to die.
The campaign aims to isolate Hamas from the residents of Gaza, and could lead to a popular uprising against the terror group’s control. If so, peace finally might have a chance.
No one is stopping you
So Lindsay Lohan is talking about leaving America forever.
Is that a threat or a promise?