Doug Muzzio
Doug Muzzio
across feisty mayor strike transit
In the transit strike and even before that, he's come across as a feisty fighter, a real mayor of the people.
competent expecting period politics replaced somebody sort tribal voters
I think voters are expecting a competent mayor, somebody who can get things done and get them done fairly. We're in sort of a post-party politics period here, where the traditional tribal politics are being replaced by a competency model.
balance mayor needs people throw
He needs to throw the mayor off balance so people will look unfavorably at the mayor. He's got to get under the mayor's skin.
cool engage knows manage situation stay
Bloomberg may not engage or inspire. But as CEO, he knows how to manage a situation and stay cool.
base competence democratic fully lost means party performance politics replaced says soul tribal
What this says is that the Democratic Party is not a fully functioning party. It means that it has lost its base and some sense of its direction. One of the things that's going on here is a lot of soul searching. . . . There are discussions of the old tribal politics being replaced by competence and performance politics.
ceases chest dominating
What does he get out of it? He ceases to be irrelevant. There's chest thumping here. He's saying, 'I'm not irrelevant.' He's in the news. He's dominating the agenda.
certainly favor mayor opponent throw
You don't throw out a mayor who's got a decent-to-good record. You certainly don't throw him out in favor of an opponent who's got a less-than-compelling message.
desk dust
There was enough dust on his desk to have an archeological dig.
charm charming
Actually, I think Rudy has more charm than Eliot.
attacked bad exactly left
Being attacked by the left is not exactly a bad thing right now.
dinner rather
I'd rather go to dinner with Rudy, wouldn't you? Rudy has more personality.
money raising
It's mind-blowing. She is raising money at a presidential level.
field mike playing standing top
Not only is the playing field not level, it's vertical, and Mike Bloomberg is standing on top of it.
race win
It's the race you'd like to forget. You can't win with this cast.