Blooming Bloombergs

Is anyone concerned about the increasing frequency with which the political class, on a bipartisan basis, openly and unapologetically thumbs its nose at the will of the people -- solely for the sake of its own self-promotion?

Of course, the political left, not entirely without reason, has accused the Bush administration of this for years. Looking to the other side of the aisle, last month the Tennessee Democratic Party, on the flimsiest of grounds, threw out an election result because they didn't like the way the incumbent candidate had voted in the previous legislative session.

Now, the City Council of New York City, in an exercise of raw political power, has overturned the results of a referendum of the people from the 1990's mandating term limits for the mayor. In an act of unusual arrogance even for the political class, Michael Bloomberg decreed himself to be of such great personal importance that the law must be changed to allow him to continue to lead the city through the present financial situation. Evidently, the voters are not capable of finding another individual with the expertise or the association of advisers needed to properly govern the city.

In a statement impossible to caricature, Mr. Bloomberg praised the council for giving "the people of New York a fuller choice." They expanded the number of choices by one.

With the U.S President having historically low popularity numbers, and Congress being even less popular, it is remarkable in how little esteem the political class is held in by the majority of people, who stand ready to put a neophyte in the White House as a testimony to the need for change. Those now leading at other levels should not be surprised when they, too, are found to be less than indispensable by those who elect them.