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American Morning

Bloomberg Leaves Town, Shuns Press

Aired February 22, 2002 - 09:53   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: Despite being in public office, can politicians still have private lives, especially in the age of invasive and aggressive media. When New York City's new mayor decided to leave town without notifying anyone, something billionaires are accustomed to doing, reporters put on the full-court press.

CNN's Jeanne Moos decided she too could make the "Moost of It."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the story of a mayor leaving town, and the media going to town on the mayor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He went off and got a sunburn.

MOOS: Without telling the press he'd be taking a long weekend at his vacation home in Bermuda.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where is Bermuda, again? I'm not sure.

MOOS: When the mayor's press office wouldn't say where the mayor was, the "New York Post" put mayor Michael Bloomberg's picture on mock-up of a milk carton with the caption "Have You Seen Me?"

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's funny. He must have loved it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It should go on the half-and-half cartoons, because we only know half truth.

MOOS: But how much should we know about the private lives of our leaders?

ED KOCH, FORMER MAYOR OF NEW YORK CITY: Give the guy some slack.

MOOS: Former Mayor Ed Koch has no problem with the current mayor refusing to tell the press where he is, even when he leaves the country.

MICHAEL BLOOMBERG, MAYOR, NEW YORK CITY: Because I've chosen not to. That's the answer. My personal life is my personal life. Anybody have any more substantive questions? We do have a city to run here.

MOOS: And the city seemed to run okay, ignorant of the mayor's whereabouts.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I couldn't care less.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's nuts.

MOOS (on camera): What are you thinking ?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's no big deal, and I think the man is entitled to his weekends.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I mean, is he out of touch? Can we not get him back here if something else happens?

MOOS (voice-over): After all, the billionaire bachelor jets around in his own private plane. Some New Yorkers expressed qualms about the mayor unannounced absences. There have been a couple of them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come on, you're a mayor. You got to be there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, he is kind of like a doctor. You want to know, at any point, you can get him.

MOOS: New Yorkers are used to Rudy, who loves staying in town with the press in tow. The same goes for Ed Koch, as reporters have pointed out.

KOCH: "You used to take us with you," I did. I said, "well, I liked you. He doesn't."

MOOS: Mayor Bloomberg grudgingly puts up with the press dogging his footsteps, and sometimes tripping over their own, but he draws the line at his personal life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, he's being a little like Jack Kennedy.

MOOS (on camera): Is that the way Jack Kennedy was?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He never told people where he was going.

MOOS: Especially his wife.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right.

MOOS: We're not going to go there.

(voice-over): But Mayor Bloomberg doesn't have a wife. As for the milk cartoon that said, "if seen, please call the City Hall press office."

(on camera): And it was funny because I guess no one called the press office.

KOCH: Right. Nobody cared where he was, except the press.

(voice-over): Do you know where your mayor is?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So what?

MOOS: Jeanne Moos. CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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