Myth America

According to Liz (via Kate Lucadamo) Anthony Weiner is going after what he calls the "myth of Mike Bloomberg." And in doing so, he's hitting on some of the very themes we've been emphasizing in our commentary: "Weiner criticized the administration for increasing spending over the past six years, not creating enough jobs and (in his opinion) virtually ignoring infrastructure problems. “The only element of infrastructure that has been successful has been the city’s ability to ticket and tow your car,” Weiner told the group. Because of increased spending by Bloomberg, the congressman said, the city is “very poorly prepared” to handle the economic downturn, adding: “We have spent in the boon time instead of spending down…We have to get our spending under control.”

In attacking in this manner, Weiner seems to be preparing a left/right strategic attack plan-going after the mayor from the right on spending and overall fiscal management performance: "Weiner said the city needs to expand jobs in entertainment, culture and health care. He accused Bloomberg of “flat” job creation in the outter boroughs...“The myth that we did this great job is just that, a myth," Weiner said. "We are poorly prepared going into this downturn."

This is a smart approach to the upcoming mayoral battle. Our view is, the more folks that are out there deconstructing the mayor's image, the brittler it-and he-will become. AW is someone who is good at getting under the mayor's skin; and his foray here is useful for all of the mayor's potential adversaries.