Because Estates And Town Cars Are So Much More “Of The People”

Newt Gingrich goes after the “elites” who cling to iPhones or Whole Foods paper bags or even a dog-eared copy of the New Yorker that is folded over to the first page of the latest refreshingly counter-intuitive piece by Malcolm Gladwell:

Raging against the nation’s “elites,” Gingrich singled out those who live in city “high-rises” and those “that ride the subway.”

He Is All Jack Donaghy Now

If I didn’t believe it was probably a bad idea to support someone who has trouble not yelling at flight attendants and leaving threatening answering machine messages for his children, I think I’d totally vote for him:

“The people running for mayor — I know this is terrible — I look at them and I say I don’t see myself in that crowd,” he added.

“They’re like a guy on a date that can’t wait; you can just tell he can’t wait to get his hand up your blouse before even the lights go out in the theater. They’re all just so horny for it. Horny for their own ascension.”

And huge bonus points for publicly slagging one of the best television shows of our generation:

“I’ve got a good job,” he said. “Is it the most creative thing in the world? Am I doing ‘The Insider’ with Michael Mann? Am I doing some edgy, like, finely chiseled social drama? No. Am I doing ‘To Kill a Mockingbird?’ No. I’m doing a sitcom. But we have fun, and it’s a family.”

I Don’t Think I’m Over 2009 Yet, But In Case You Are, Here Is Some Information To Pass Along

A friend recommended Clyde Haberman’s recent column about the two referendum questions on tomorrow’s ballot. I didn’t realize how bad some of the editorial boards have been this time around — and they were bad enough last time when it came to providing justification for Bloomberg’s third term (otherwise known as the most egregious abrogation of democracy in the history of the U.S. — I’m being dramatic, but can you think of a worse one?):

As for newspapers, some seem to suffer from a severe case of short-term memory loss. All three major papers in the city supported the Bloomberg-Quinn deal. This newspaper’s editorial board did so somewhat tepidly. The Daily News and The New York Post, owned by two more billionaires, were rabidly enthusiastic.

But you wouldn’t know it from recent editorials. In August, The News tut-tutted over how the Council had acted “self-servingly” in 2008. The Council — as if Mr. Bloomberg had no hand in the process. Last weekend, The Post urged voters to skip Question 1 entirely. “Why bother?” it said, adding with a straight face, “Politicians treat term limits with contempt.” No kidding.

(Here is a recommendation to vote yes on the second referendum question, in case you’re interested.)

See also: Bloomberg For Mayor 2009.

Harlem As Soundstage For Political Theater (Or, How Harold Ford Discovered That Food In Memphis Was Much, Much Better Than That Which You Get Around Here)

Does anyone go to Sylvia’s to actually eat anymore? Recently we’ve seen Bill O’Reilly, Caroline Kennedy and now Harold Ford:

Harold Ford’s potential Senate bid will get a tasty photo op Friday: He’s having lunch with influential Assemblyman Keith Wright (D-Harlem) at Sylvia’s, the famed Harlem eatery.

. . .

The former Tennessee congressman has been working hard behind the scenes to pick up support among Democratic leaders, the vast majority of whom are already pledged to Gillibrand. But Wright has yet to back anyone — making him one of the few county leaders whose endorsement is still up for grabs.

Where Did All Those Yesterdays Go When You Still Believed Love Could Really Be Like A Broadway Show? You Are The Star . . .

New York was built on immigrants, dreamers and carpetbaggers:

Speaking from a conference room at New York University, where he is a teacher, [Harold Ford, Jr.], 39, expressed enthusiasm about his new hometown, though he described a life quite different than most New Yorkers. On many days, he is driven to an NBC television studio in a chauffeured car. He and his wife, Emily, a 29-year-old fashion executive, live a few blocks from the Lexington Avenue subway line in the Flatiron district. But Mr. Ford said he takes the subway only occasionally in the winter, to avoid the cold when he cannot hail a cab.

Asked whether he had visited all five boroughs, he mentioned taking a helicopter ride across the city with fellow executives, at the invitation of Raymond W. Kelly, New York City’s police commissioner. “The only place I have not spent considerable time is Staten Island,” he said, adding that “I landed there in the helicopter, so I can say yes.”

Asked about his baseball loyalties, he responded: “I am a Yankees fan,” and added that he had yet to visit Citi Field, the home of the Mets.

He has breakfast most mornings at the Regency Hotel on Park Avenue, and he receives regular pedicures. (He described them as treatment for a foot condition.)