Weiner's reintroduction becomes Huma Abedin's 'listening tour'
Briefing: Abedin. Azi Paybarah via flickr
7:50 am Jul. 20, 2012
Ian Bishop and Ken Lovett quote an unnamed source who puts a fitting cap on a week filled with Anthony Weiner speculation:
The big interview with People magazine, according to Bishop and Lovett's source, was really about propelling Huma Abedin into the spotlight, and perhaps starting her career in elected office.
Just like Bill and Hillary! Look:
"Think of this as the first step in Huma's listening tour," said the source, who went on to say that Clinton aides had a hand in putting the interview together.
It's clear that Abedin is the more sympathetic figure of the pair, all the more so after having been the target of a self-evidently ludicrous attack by Michele Bachmann for being a secret agent for radical Islam, and then defended by John McCain as a representation of "what is best about America."
I somehow can't imagine Senator McCain—or Senator Schumer, for that matter—saying any such thing, under any circumstances, about Anthony David Weiner.
Weiner, for his part, has taken up where he left off, in terms of truthiness. The former councilman and congressman flatly denied a front-page New York Post story saying he was interested in running for office again when he's clearly looking for a way back in, telling Queens Tribune reporter Ross Barkan, " As with everything else the New York Post has written about me and my family, the stories of the last [week] are pure fiction."
Still, he did speak to the Post for a story in today's paper, which included this: "Even Weiner realized he’d been eclipsed by his wife. 'She’s huge news today,' he told The Post."
Quote
Dick Ravitch: "The City of New York has an unfunded liability of over $85 billion in healthcare liabilities to the employees, workers, current and former … of the city of New York." [Brian Lehrer]
Events
Andrew Cuomo is "in the New York City area" and has no public schedule.
8:05 a.m. Michael Bloomberg appears on WOR710.
11 a.m. Republican Senate candidate Wendy Long discusses infrastructure needs and "the imbalance of payments between Washington and New York" at 1 Depot Plaza, in Tarrytown.
11:30 a.m. Family of Sylvia Woods and Al Sharpton will announce funeral plans for the legendary restaurant owner, at 328 Lenox Avenue in Manhattan.
2012
Michael Bloomberg said questions about Mitt Romney's taxes aren't as important to voters as his plan to fix the economy. [Sally Goldenberg]
"The former chief executive and a top lobbyist for Barclays, the bank at the center of the scandal, helped organize a Romney fund-raiser. The former chief executive, Robert E. Diamond Jr., has since withdrawn his name as the event’s co-host. The bank’s lobbyist, Patrick J. Durkin, remains a co-chairman: he has bundled $1.1 million for Mr. Romney from friends and business associates, more than any other lobbyist, according to federal records." [Michael Barbaro and Nicholas Confessore]
"More and more this election year, campaign ads include footage from television news programs, further blurring the fading lines separating modern journalism and politics." [John Hardwood]
NY-11
A grand jury is looking into allegations that freshman Republican congressman Michael Grimm improperly funneled money into his campaign account. [Alison Gendar]
2013
Anthony Weiner: "As with everything else the New York Post has written about me and my family, the stories of the last [week] are pure fiction." [Ross Barkan]
"[Y]ou have a candidacy that all of a sudden seems more fact than fiction." [City and State]
"One thing he really has going for him: his wife." [Dick Brennan]
"Think of this as the first step in Huma's listening tour." [Ian Bishop and Ken Lovett]
"Even Weiner realized he’d been eclipsed by his wife. 'She’s huge news today,' he told The Post." [Beth Defalco and Jeane Macintosh]
City Hall
The city's unemployment rate hit 10 percent, despite the fact that "city officials make almost daily pronouncements about how impressively the city's economy has rebounded from the long recession." [Patrick McGeehan]
"New York's unemployment rate rose again in June to its highest level in more than two years, continuing a puzzling trend: As the nation's jobless numbers have declined in the past year, the city and state's have turned sharply upward." [Anjali Athavalley and Jacob Gershman]
NY-06
Democrat Grace Meng has a financial and voter registration advantage over Republican Dan Halloran, who is trying to make an issue out of the number of times Meng will debate him on television. [Michael Gannon]
Meng will debate Halloran. [Joe Anuta]
AD-22
Anybody not running for the Assembly seat being vacated by Grace Meng? [Joe Anuta]
City Council
Since Council Speaker Christine Quinn blocked plans to vote on the Paid Sick Day legislation, "New Yorkers are getting paid more and more people are in the workforce." [Courtney Gross]
Councilman Jumaane Williams' silence about the violence at McCarren Park proves NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly's criticism was correct, one editorial page said. [New York Post]
Councilman James Sanders said he was holding a press conference in Queens right when Kelly was condemning public officials for not speaking out against violence. [Rich Bockman]
Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. again called for a "Three Strikes, You're In" law which requires mandatory prison time for anyone convicted of three misdemeanors within 10 years. [Sally Goldenberg]
Margaret Chin "stands tall" after winning concessions in N.Y.U's expansion plans. [The Villager]
Councilwoman Rosie Mendez, whose district is next door to N.Y.U., said voting against the school's expansion plan would be the "easy thing to do," as she voted for it. [Lincoln Anderson]
Albany
Andrew Cuomo signed a bill regulated heating elements in pet cages. [Erik Kriss]
R.I.P. Sylvia Woods
Bloomberg: "We lost a legend toady." [MikeBloomberg.com]
A "woman who lived the American experience to the fullest." [Daily News]
A "national ambassador" of soul food. [Stephen Miller and Michael Howard Saul]
The Times weighs in. [Margalit Fox]
Basil Smikle: "[S]he always made you feel like you were the VIP." [Facebook]
Luther Smith: "A true Harlem institution." [Facebook]
John Edwards
Cate Edwards, daughter of former Senator John Edwards, joined the law firm started by Arthur Schwartz and Chris Owens. Of John Edwards, Schwartz said, "I do hope he joins us." [Scoopy]
Cate Edwards will manage the firm's Washington office and is on its board of directors. [AdvocatesForJustice.net]
Flashback: Schwartz was in talks to open the firm with John Edwards, who hoped the work would help rehabilitate his image after the Rielle Hunter scandal. [Azi Paybarah]
Transit
M.T.A. Chairman Joe Lhota is cheered for cutting expenses and restoring service. [Daily News]
Fare hikes expected in January will actually start in March, thanks to better-than-expected finances at the agency. [Jennifer Fermino]
Local
Despite opposition from Queens Borough President Helen Marshall, State Senator Tony Avella and Community Board 7, plans for a new Mormon church in Flushing were approved by the city's Board of Standards and Appeals. [Liz Rhoades]
On Air
Eliot Spitzer on Romney's 59-point plan for the economy: "It is a litany of half-baked ideas. And I don't say that in a partisan way. I actually read it. It was boring, it was turgid and most of it was rehashed stuff from the past that doesn't create a vision or, in my view, even an effective way to create jobs." [Current.com]
M.T.A. Chairman and C.E.O. Joe Lhota said the agency has to decide if they'll allow political ads and issue-oriented ads to appear on Metrocards. [Inside City Hall]
Dominic Carter on Anthony Weiner: He's not running for mayor "but he's already back, politically." [Richard French Live]
Media
Great anecdotes from longtime reporter Albert Amateau about smoking a joint in a police station, given to him by Police Chief Carlo P. Listi and the State Supreme Court having two press rooms "because of a bitter feud between Daily News and Post reporters." [The Villager]
The founder and editor of American Spectator says if Weiner grants him an interview, "I can guarantee Weiner I would lob nothing but softball inquiries." He adds, "I am also interested in Weiner because I surmise that he played a significant role in ending a historic episode of Liberalism a year or so ago." [R. Emmett Tyrrell Jr.]
From Capital
An interview with the viral-video-making Manhattan liberal making light of Mitt Romney. [Joe Pompeo]
Antonin Scalia and John Roberts are still good, according to Scalia. [Reid Pillifant]
Rep. Nan Hayworth raised $467,599, mostly without John Boehner's help. [Reid Pillifant]
Bill de Blasio aides say he's getting traction in the outer boroughs. [Dana Rubinstein]
Restorations of M.T.A. services that had been previously cut were announced ahead of a planned fare hike "to soften the blow." [Dana Rubinstein]
What can Mark Penn do for Microsoft? [Azi Paybarah]
Front Pages
