Because spin, data manipulation and misleading statements seem so crucial to Mayor Bloomberg’s policies and practices, it’s as shocking as an ice cold shower when the NYC shifts to realistic data collection for policy planning. Evidence-based planning, absent elsewhere in Mr. Bloomberg’s universe (about which I will post shortly), is being introduced by NYC’s Center on Economic Opportunity. . It galls me to say it, but, Mayor Bloomberg and his Deputy Linda Gibbs deserve praise for this effort. Update: Late December New York Times report is here .

Tonight, as part of our ongoing series 'Either inspired or monumentally daft - You decide', we bring you the news that someone is trying to draft Mark Green for a run at the White House.

Yes, of course there's a web site. The domain is registered to a C.M. Barons up in Bergen, on the outer outskirts of Rochester.

Now, don't get me wrong; I'm a big fan of Mark's, even more of his wife Deni. New Yorkers have ample cause to regret his departure from public office, a regret made more acute if you observe his successor, for whom even the term non-entity seems an excess of charity.

But President? Really? Because why, the country has suddenly discovered a new-found love for über-liberal New Yorkers? What, Hillary polling in the low forties against John McCain's dog isn't bad enough for you?

New Yorkers will be happy to know that Mark Green seems to have found a nice job that won't involve his running for office again. Mark Green, formerly NYC's Public Advocate, has run for mayor of NYC and Attorney General of NY State. Often described as the most qualified candidate no one likes, his own personality probably did more to defeat him than anyting his opponents could do. Mark Green has been an excellent progressive who really stands up for people, but also is known to be one of the biggest assholes in NY politics...and believe me, NY politics is full of assholes, so that's saying something.

This morning I got an email from "The Desk of Mark Green, President of Air America Radio." My first thought was "CAN'T BE!" But it is. Mark Green, the most qualified and hated candidate in NYC politics, has bought Air America Radio and is their new President. I predict this will have no ill effects on what listeners hear since Mark Green's politics are excellent. Really, I have little beef with what he stands for. I predict that Air America Radio will be run better under the Green family. Someone who was widely seen as qualified to run NYC or be Attorney General of NY State is certainly qualified to run a radio station. I am sure he will do well.

I thought I'd have a little fun with my vote and so I did something that I would not normally do ... I voted for the candidate that I absolutely know is not going to win. I really want to see how many votes Tasini gets. Will camp Hillary get all freaky if Tasini gets more than the projected 9%?

As to my other votes, the answer is an out of body experience for the post ... heh.

Here's a little something Mark emailed out this morning. A pretty concise summation of Mark Green, the brand.

There is a whole process to vlogging that I find totally unsatisfying. I hate editing and I hate compressing files for better streaming because it takes too long and I want to put thing up on the web NOW! The upside of editing and going through frames is that you get to crack yourself up with the body language of your subjects.

Case in point : I could spend hours watching Christine Quinn talk ... with the volume off. Check her out. She looks like she's singing --although I suggest she get a voice coach because she strains her voice during speeches. Girlfriend, breathe!

Then it's not even anything they're doing.

I happen to like the camera perspective on these photos
of Sylvia Friedman and Al Doyle.

And then, there is Mark Green...

More after the jump.

I'm looking at the Attorney General race with a mixture of amusement and foreboding. Mark Green is clearly having the time of his life (how long can it be before he buys everyone in this state a subscription to the New York Times?), doing what he does best: attack.

Here's a suggestion, made because this blog has been not unfriendly to Mark, and (if I had to hazard a guess) because the Daily Gotham editors are pretty much friendlier to Green than we are to Cuomo: Mark, lay off a bit, and tell us why you're the best choice, not that Andy Cuomo is Bush's butt boy. He's not. The same message goes out to the Cuomo camp.

I'm concerned specifically about the stature of the eventual primary winner after the smoke clears. In this year's California gubernatorial primary, the contenders, Westly and Angelides, did everything to each other but rip off hunks of flesh with trained Rottweilers. The eventual winner, Phil Angelides, was weak to begin with (Freddy Ferrer with a tan, as I wrote to a republican friend of mine who's reasonably well connected in the California party), and is presently on a course to lose his race to Arnold Schwarzenegger. The governator, in turn, is using the wealth of material from the Democratic primary to smear the Democratic nominee, and it's working.

It's easy enough to laugh at Jeanine Pirro. Page 10, her husband, her hair, the list goes on. It's also a mistake to do so. In the general, she's the only republican who may stand a chance, and the last thing we need is a Democratic governor paired with a hostile Attorney General who has designs on the governorship. Maybe Mark and Andy don't remember Ken Starr, but I do. Lay off, guys, because while what you're doing to each other may be fun to watch, you're also hurting the overall agenda - and that is more important than either of your careers. While I personally prefer Green as the next AG, I could live with Cuomo; I couldn't live with Pirro.