Dinkins Lends Tepid Support To Thompson

Former Mayor David Dinkins came out and not surprisingly endorsed Bill Thompson for his old job. On the face of it, the news sounds good for the candidate but unfortunately Dinkins screws everything up from there. Perhaps he's not as politically savvy as he once was or simply that he doesn't care much for Thompson, but the fact is he didn't really make a case for Thompson or even against Bloomberg.

From The NY Daily News:

Former Mayor David Dinkins said today he'll endorse Comptroller Bill Thompson for mayor, but does not anticipate saying anything negative about Mayor Bloomberg because he thinks the mayor has "done a pretty good job.”

“Other than 1969, when I endorsed John Lindsay, I have never, ever supported a candidate for mayor who wasn’t a Democrat," Dinkins told the DN's Michael Saul.

“I think (Thompson) is a fine public servant. I’ve known him forever," Dinkins continued. "So, I’m, I suppose, in a sense, biased. His father is a good friend of mine, and that’s a factor as well. But I think Billy will do fine."

Not much more enthusiasm than his 2005 endorsement of Ferrer:

At the time, Dinkins and other prominent Democrats’ support of Ferrer was viewed as lukewarm because they never offered a rationale for why Bloomberg should be booted from office.

“It’s just not my style to lambaste the opposition, unless it’s, you know, Mario Procaccino or Rudolph Giuliani, somebody I see as very extreme, but otherwise that’s just not me,” Dinkins explained. "...I like Mike."

"I like Mike" he says.....

If only New York City had a Democratic party that was able to cart Dinkins immediately off the stage, never to be seen again. Then again, if we had a strong party in this city perhaps the former mayor might actually show real support for Thompson, or whomever out there running against the Conservative and Republican-backed Mayor Bloomberg. Either way, the Democratic nominee is going to need surrogates that give a damn, not those that can't name a single reason to not like the plutocratic mayor we have now.