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BY BOB McHUGH
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
COMMENTARY
In Greek mythology, Deadalus tries to escape the king's wrath by flying away on a pair of wax and feather wings fashioned by his father. But, ignoring his father's warning, Deadalus soars too close to the sun, the wax melts and he falls to his death.
In New York City, Mayor Mike Bloomberg is smart and lucky. You have to be smart to make billions and competently govern one of the world's most complex cities. Bloomberg has done both. But, like politicians before and undoubtedly after him, the mayor may be flying just a little too close to the sun.
Wax melting from his wings and steam coming from his ears were pretty plain to see in a series of flubbed Bloomberg press conferences this week in which he tried to explain why the Big Apple was having such a tough time getting out from under the snow.
Bloomberg got greedy. He wanted a third term as mayor so badly that he pressured the City Council to change the law in his favor and spent more than $100 million to secure himself the election. An election stolen, like in Ivory Coast or Mogadishu? Hardly. But a little dictatorial for the USA.Now, his wish for a third term come true, Bloomberg seems to be seeing that his wisdom and wit -- like suggesting New Yorkers take in Broadway show while they wait for the plows -- are no match for Mother Nature or the fickle media.
Ambitious politicians in New Jersey have watched their wings melt, too.
Christie Whitman broke faith with the voters when she traded in the last year of her governorship for an appointment to the Cabinet of George W. Bush. As head of the Environmental Protection Agency, she was left holding the bag for dangerous air pollution as result of the Twin Towers disaster.
Her elected successor, Jon Corzine, quit the job he was elected to as well. Bored in the Senate, though he'd spent $60 million of his own money to get there, Corzine quit and spent another $40-plus million to get elected governor. After a single term and some $23 million more, he was taken out by Chris Christie, a guy of whom many people had never heard.
Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-NJ, showed class when, in 2000 and in his 80s, he decided to forgo a third term. In 1982, a younger Lautenberg had criticized venerable Rep. Millicent Fenwick, R-NJ, as being too old to serve in the Senate.
But by 2001, Lautenberg longed again for Capitol Hill and successfully sought to return to his old office. He did and, at 87, he's the oldest member of the Senate. But, though he is a good and respected man, after decades in Washington he lacks a prestigious committee chairmanship and is little known outside the Garden State.
Bloomberg, like Lautenberg, is a good and respected man. Corzine and Whitman are honorable, too. But they all learned the hard way that flying to close to the sun will melt your wings.
Luckily for Mayor Bloomberg, the sun will also melt the snow.
A former journalist, Bob McHugh also worked in the administrations of Mayor Bloomberg and Gov. Whitman.
