Fine, maybe the Marist poll revealing that Mayor Bloomberg's approval rating fell seven points is not exactly correlated with his promise to get back at Staten Island Chuck. But on John Gambling's radio show Mayor Bloomberg did (jokingly) discuss revenge and retribution with the creature who bit him on Groundhog Day—"I'm gonna get the little SOB next year. I'm gonna bite him in front of the cameras"—which totally sounds like a way to work his way into the hearts of voters who want to see some sort of smackdown between a billionaire and a little ol' groundhog who just sent the Mayor chocolates for his birthday/Valentine's Day as an apology.
The Marist poll puts his approval rating at 52%; in November, he was at 59%—which was a drop from 68% in a previous Marist poll. Politicker NY writes, "The last time Bloomberg’s job approval rating was in the low 50’s was in August 2005, when 53 percent gave him an excellent or good rating, compared to 46 percent who rated him fair or poor." Marist's polling director Lee Mirringoff chalks up Bloomberg's low numbers to the economy. Bloomberg still bests potential mayoral opponents Anthony Weiner, William Thompson and Tony Avella in matchups.
