New York Times: Bloomberg Is A Diminished Human Being With An Inability To Connect With People

This NY Times article takes a look at Bloomberg's inability to empathize with or console people in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.

The article notes that Bloomberg is more comfortable at press conferences where he can rattle off data and facts (although I would argue a lot of time the data and facts he rattles off are horseshit) then talking to people.

His City Hall handlers have been stung by the video of Rockaway residents cursing Bloomberg out post-Sandy and now try and limit his exposure to the unruly masses.

They make unannounced visits to try and keep camera crews away from the scene in hopes of avoiding another "We're the fuck's our power, Bloomberg!" scene.

They take their own video of some of his interactions with residents and post it on You Tube, but always without sound, as if Bloomberg is some silent movie star.

The article goes on to depict Bloomberg as a diminished human being uncomfortable with messy things like emotions:

Spending even a moment on emotional matters can apparently bother Mr. Bloomberg, who prefers to be an active problem-solver at all times. Asked on Tuesday in a news conference to share his impressions of the grim scenes he has witnessed in the Rockaways, he seemed to equate such reflection with idleness. 

“A lot of residents unfortunately are going to be out of power for as long as — a long time,” the mayor replied, his voice firm. “But rather than complain about it, or even write about it, we are trying to do something about it. We can sit around and wring our hands, and say, ‘It’s terrible.’ Mother Nature brought us this storm. Now, we’re just going to deal with it.”

The truth is, he hasn't done much about the problems either, but it would be nice to see him actually say something along the lines of "You know, I'm sorry this happened to you.  I can empathize with what you're going through.  I want to help you in any way I can."

But of course Bloomberg isn't sorry these awful things happened to New Yorkers - he's sorry he has to deal with them

He can't empathize with people because that part of his humanity is either cut off from his conscious self or completely lacking.

And he isn't trying to help people in any way he can - he helped Manhattan, but he's left the rest of the boroughs pretty much on their own.

And don't think New Yorkers haven't noticed - even the ones who voted for him and put his wrinkled, arrogant ass into City Hall for a third term:

In Howard Beach, Queens, where Mr. Bloomberg spoke on Monday at a still-closed public school, one mayoral handler encouraged reporters to gather inside the building — “we’re going to start” — rather than witness the mayor’s walk past a group of parents and their displaced children.

...

Nearby, on 159th Avenue, where floodwaters ruined living rooms and cars, Lena Napoli, a lifelong resident, said the mayor “just cracks me up.” 

“We know Manhattan was his priority,” Ms. Napoli said as she walked her grandson past the mayor’s entourage. “The lights are back on Broadway, but that doesn’t help the people in Queens and Staten Island who were hit worst by this.” 

...

Back in the line for coats, Tahirah Ingram obtained rumpled jackets for her three children after a 90-minute wait in the rain; their powerless apartment has been increasingly cold at night. 

“I would have expected him to come out,” she said of Mr. Bloomberg. “Out here, we were forgotten. We’re not part of New York City, too?”

Bloomberg and his handlers are obsessed over his so-called "legacy" as mayor.

This inability to connect with others on a human level, his need to hide from his feelings, his inability to understand other people's feelings, and his uncomfortability with the masses - that's a big part of his "legacy".

That goes along with the Bloomberg Blizzard of 2010, CityTime, the failed 911 system that is $1 billion over budget, the various other consultant scandals, the NYPD scandals including the ticket fixing and the crime data manipulation and his failed education policies.