Part Charlie Rose, Part Frederick Frankenstein

Mark Green — the man directly responsible for Mayor Bloomberg — confronts his creation:

It was a meeting that felt more like a Catskill comedy routine than a reunion of two formerly bitter political rivals:

When Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg visited the studios of Air America Radio yesterday for an interview at the hands of Mark Green, the two men made a show of how deeply they had buried the hatchet since their bruising contest for mayor in 2001.

“Who would have thought that you’re here as the media guy and I’m here as the politician,” Mr. Bloomberg said to Mr. Green, a perennial candidate who swore off politics after losing the race for state attorney general to Andrew M. Cuomo last year.

“You took the words out of my mouth,” Mr. Green said. “If you had asked me six years ago whether I’d be interviewing you as a co-owner and president of Air America Radio and you as the mayor . . .”

. . .

The encounter between Mr. Bloomberg and Mr. Green, one of their most extended since Mr. Green’s 2001 defeat, made for an odd bit of political theater. Mr. Green, a Democrat, largely expressed support for what Mr. Bloomberg has done with the office they once fought over.

But it also gave Mr. Bloomberg, a nominal Republican, the opportunity to send his messages about stemming illegal gun trafficking and improving the environment to a potentially receptive national audience.

And to trade cheesy puns. At one point, Mr. Green segued into a discussion of Mr. Bloomberg’s environmental development plan, saying it was an effort to create “a cleaner city, as he calls it a greener city — a phrase I’m not going to object to at this time.”

Mr. Bloomberg interjected: “I’ve always wanted to make this a green city, Mark. Just not back in ’01.”