BLOOMIE: RESPECT MY AUTHORITY!

Mike Bloomberg isn't getting his way, and he's not happy about that. Our accidental governor seemed weak and easy to roll, but he's being rather Obamaesque, refusing to be rattled, and it's making Bloomie crazy.

Here's Bloomberg at a news conference yesterday, as reported by the New York Daily News:

"I'm not endorsing Caroline Kennedy," Bloomberg said. "I've said again and again that the governor is lucky to have multiple candidates who are qualified to pick from. But in the case of Caroline Kennedy, I happen to have worked with her. She has worked in the New York City school system. She is intelligent, competant, knows as much about the issues, I think, as most people that run for senator or have been our senators in the past."

"...The fact that she comes from a family with an illustrious history of service to this country, you certainly shouldn’t hold it against her," the mayor continued. "She is known because of it. She has conducted her life, I think, in an exemplary manner. She should be judged, however, on her ability, and I think on that basis Caroline Kennedy will do just fine."

"That doesn't mean she's the only one. It's up to the governor, and I think the governor should make a decision reasonably quickly because this is just getting out of control and everybody's focusing on the wrong things."

Translation: The rollout isn't working, and Paterson damn well better get with the program and choose Kennedy before even more people actually focus on whether she has any qualifications for the job.

Paterson, meanwhile, just went off on a secret trip to Iraq with Congressman Steve Israel (who also wants the Senate seat) and Congressman Anthony Weiner (who wants to take the mayor's job away from Bloomberg and, unlike Bloomberg, is a Democrat). A Politico story this weekend reported that Caroline Kennedy refuses to say that she'll endorse the Democratic mayoral candidate next year.

The News takes Bloomberg's insistence that he doesn't have a favorite candidate at face value, even while noting that his "top political aide, Kevin Sheekey, and outside consultant, Josh Isay, have been heavily involved in Kennedy's rollout." Please. Bloomberg is not George W. Bush. Subordinates don't do things under his aegis without his knowledge and approval.