Please... Go away... Leave the American people in peace... PLEASE!
[url]http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=33092[/url]
IN SEARCH OF A LEGACY
Buzz in Big Apple:
'Mayor' Bill Clinton
Rumors abound former president may run for New York City chief
Posted: June 15, 2003
2:45 p.m. Eastern
© 2003 WorldNetDaily.com
The city that never sleeps is wide awake with talk that ex-President Bill Clinton is looking to run for mayor of New York, where he would hold elected office in the same state as his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.
What started as speculation in political publications became a hot topic in the Big Apple in the same week that Juanita Broaddrick went on national cable TV to detail her rape allegations against Clinton.
Even current Mayor Michael Bloomberg took a moment to comment on the reports.
"I welcome lots of competition," said Bloomberg. "If President Clinton wants to run for mayor, I can tell him it's a very challenging job. But it's a great job. I would recommend it to anybody."
But Bloomberg, a Republican, added a word of warning.
"I sort of recommend that he thinks about it for the next six years because he'd have a tough time winning before that."
The next mayoral election is slated for 2005, and Mr. Clinton would have to establish residency in the city. He currently has a house in Westchester County.
Democrat Ed Koch, the former mayor of New York, said on CNN that he "very much" hoped Clinton would run for the city's top job, but New York Newsday also quoted Koch as laughing at the possibility.
"Could you see Bill Clinton being interested in picking up the every-day, which is one of the major functions of a mayor?" the ex-mayor wanted to know. "It's like LaGuardia said: 'There's no Democratic way, no Republican way to pick up garbage.' Clinton's problem is he's got nothing much to do. History has passed him by. It is sad."
A potential Democratic hopeful for mayor, City Council speaker Gifford Miller, said he'd back Clinton should Bill decide to seek the office.
"I don't think you could be a lot more qualified than having served as president of the United States of America," Miller said at a news conference. "He has done a phenomenal job for our country. So if Bill Clinton wants to run for mayor, I'll support him."
Britain's Observer sampled ordinary New Yorkers to the possibility of a Bill Clinton candidacy, getting a wide variety of responses.
Flower vendor Molly Marks: "The guy we need and damn deserve. He'd add a bit of spice to things. He's a kind of glamorous figure."
Charles Conseco: "It'd be cool ... some fun at City Hall for a change. I voted for him to be President, and I'd sure vote for him to be mayor – that'd be even closer to the people. I think that's where he likes to be."
Cab driver Pierre Martin: "You know, he likes to be liked, and he knows that people from this city like him. I do."
Store manager Ruth Wils: "He may be good at flying all around other countries talking to people about big issues, but can he fix a city budget? I wonder if he's really interested in that."
Jeweler Rick Herszenhorn: "They call him Slick Willie and that's just about all he is. Let's be serious, he couldn't run this city no more than he can keep his pants zipped up."
Jacek Jozwik, Internet cafe worker: "Guess the first thing he'll want to do is open back up all those sex shops and strip bars Rudy closed down, and he'll sure get votes for that."
Clinton, who reportedly netted over $9 million on the speaking circuit last year, has not commented publicly on the matter, though his spokesman Jim Kennedy has sent out e-mails trying to quash speculation about Clinton running for mayor.
"He's very happy living in Westchester County and very happy being in Harlem working on his foundation, dealing with AIDS treatment, economic empowerment and other issues, so running for mayor is not something he's considering," Kennedy wrote to the White Plains Journal News.
In a 1999 poll of New York Post readers, Clinton finished second only to Adolf Hitler as the "most evil person of the millennium," surprising some as the ex-president was a write-in candidate.