I'm not an author, but before I became mayor, I wasn't a mayor.

There's a nastiness out there that wants to harm me with words. These are my enemies - the ideologues, the populists, the columnists who don't like the fact that I take them on toe-to-toe. What I try to do is tell the truth. It's not the coin of the realm in politics.

Don't tell me this is a difficult problem. If it weren't difficult, it wouldn't be a problem.

In a neighborhood, as in life, a clean bandage is much, much better than a raw or festering wound.

But enough of me. Lets talk about you. What do you think of me?

Anybody who suggests that I run for governor is no friend of mine. It's a terrible position, and besides, it requires living in Albany, which is small-town life at its worst.

No, I am not a homosexual. If I were a homosexual, I would hope I would have the courage to say so. What's cruel is that you are forcing me to say I am not a homosexual. This means you are putting homosexuals down. I don't want to do that.