So it has been a long and tiring primary/runoff/general election. And the net result is not really that different from where we started. Money and machines won most races. Corruption paid off in most cases. A few interesting upsets occurred to keep things interesting, but by and large, things stay the same.

The mayor will be the same pro-business, anti-labor dictator he has always been. In fact I expect him to be worse. He has just pulled off one of the biggest coups of recent history by flat out telling the voters they don't matter. It doesn't matter if the voters want term limits, Bloomberg will push those limits aside like Moses parting the Red Sea and simply spend any amount of money to win. NYC voters, $200 per vote. His ego will of course be boosted by this and he is bound to feel like there are no checks or balances on his power. And by and large he is right. NYC is run more dictatorially than any city I have lived in. That struck me during Giuliani's reign and it strikes me even more since the Bloomberg putsch. NYC doesn't need voters. Just sit back and trust Papa Bloomberg. I predict a bad third term.  read more »