As promised, here's Bill Clinton at a press conference this morning saying Michael Bloomberg is “doing a great job.”
It's somewhat likely that Clinton's performance will turn up in Bloomberg campaign videos, since his videographers were at the event.
This isn’t the first time Clinton has muddled the efforts of a Democrat trying to oust Bloomberg from City Hall.
In 2005, Clinton endorsed Democratic mayoral candidate Fernando Ferrer at an October 20 event in the Bronx, but reporters couldn’t get close enough to hear what Clinton and Ferrer were saying. Stories at the time indicated reporters actually handed their audio tapes to children at the event because they were closer and no molt box was available.
The New York Sun said the event was “a flop” and that “there was speculation among some members of the crowd that the former president was not interested in widely broadcasting his support for the opponent of a mayor who is popular among many Democrats.”
In an October 24, 2005 news story, the Daily News wrote, "[T]he former President's office ordered microphones switched off, making Clinton's endorsement of Ferrer nearly inaudible."
Then, on October 27, Clinton and Bloomberg both appeared at an event at the Waldorf Astoria, and happened to run into each other. News photographers captured the moment, and the photo seemed to ring stronger than Clinton’s endorsement of Ferrer.
It may or may not be worth noting that the image is actually hanging up in City Hall’s Room 9.
