I tried to see your point of view, but I have to have things my way.

Now you are a short timer. A king without a castle. A lame duck.

So it’s time to say goodbye. Stranger. It’s been nice. I’ll never look behind me.

Please try not to screw up San Francisco too much in the new year.

I love you Gavin Newsom, and I dedicate this song to you:

It was an early morning yesterday
I was up before the dawn
And I really have enjoyed my stay
But I must be moving on

Like a king without a castle
Like a queen without a throne
I’m an early morning lover
And I must be moving on

Now I believe in what you say
Is the undisputed truth
But I have to have things my own way
To keep me in my youth

Like a ship without an anchor
Like a slave without a chain
Just the thought of those sweet ladies
Sends a shiver through my veins

And I will go on shining
Shining like brand new
I’ll never look behind me
My troubles will be few

(Goodbye stranger it’s been nice)
(Hope you find your paradise)
(Tried to see your point of view)
(Hope your dreams will all come true)

(Goodbye Ruby, Goodbye Kim)
(Will we ever meet again)
(Feel no sorrow, feel no shame)
(Come tomorrow, feel no pain)

Sweet devotion, (Goodbye Ruby)
It’s not for me (Goodbye Kim)
Just give me motion, (Will we ever)
and set me free (meet again)

Land in the ocean, (Feel no sorrow)
far away (feel no shame)
It’s the life I’ve chosen (Come tomorrow)
every day (feel no pain)

So Goodbye Ruby, (Goodbye Ruby)
Goodbye Kim (Goodbye Kim)
Will we ever (Will we ever)
meet again (meet again)

Now some they do and some they don’t
And some you just can’t tell
And some they will and some they won’t
With some it’s just as well

You can laugh at my behavior
That’ll never bother me
Say the devil is my savior
But I don’t pay no heed

And I will go on shining
Shining like brand new
I’ll never look behind me
My troubles will be few

(Goodbye stranger it’s been nice)
(Hope you find your paradise)
(Tried to see your point of view)
(Hope your dreams will all come true)

(Goodbye Ruby, Goodbye Kim)
(Will we ever meet again)
(Feel no sorrow, feel no shame)
(Come tomorrow, feel no pain)
Sweet devotion, (Goodbye Ruby)
it’s not for me (Goodbye Kim)

Just give me motion, (Will we ever)
And set me free (meet again)
Land in the ocean, (Feel no sorrow)
Far away (feel no shame)
It’s the life I’ve chosen, (Come tomorrow)
Every day (feel no pain)

Now I’m leaving, (Goodbye Ruby)
Got to go, (Goodbye Kim)
Hit the road (Will we ever)
I’ll say it once again, (meet again)
oh yes I’m leaving (Feel no sorrow)
Got to go, (feel no shame)
Got to go. (come tomorrow)

I’m sorry I must tell you (feel no pain)
But Goodbye Ruby, (Goodbye Ruby)
Goodbye Kim (Goodbye Kim)
Will we ever (Will we ever)
Meet again (meet again)

Oh I’m leavin’
I’ve got to go

Newsom’s press team made this media training reel for their boss over the weekend.

Watch and learn what not to do media-wise.

The walkaway mayor walks away again.

Mayor Gavin Newsom finally sat down with CBS 5 political reporter Hank Plante.

Watch ’til the end when Newsom rips off his microphone and goes “off the record”.

Really?

In public, the Newsom administration puts on a really good game face. But in private, there are all kinds of awkward silences and a lack of basic civility. And now the window is open and the public is seeing what many leading city people have seen for the past couple of years.

"If you guys asked nicer questions, I would show up for work."

CBS 5 – Reporter Joe Vazquez tries to pin down the man-child mayor to ask him about his new disappearing act, but the mayor just walks away.

Now where I have I seen this before?

"Why do they say such things?"

SF Weekly — Seek out the political operatives who once worked closely with Newsom, and you’ll find that a number have soured on the mayor.

Ask them why, and you’ll be bombarded with his alleged character flaws. Among them: “thin-skinned,” “disloyal,” “friendless,” “joyless,” “Machiavellian,” “craven,” and “empty.”

One will tell you that Eric Jaye was “the best-paid babysitter in California.”

Several diagnose Newsom with an acute case of narcissism.

“He’s probably the worst mayor in modern history,” said Jack Davis, a strategist who has worked on the mayoral campaigns of Newsom, Willie Brown, and Frank Jordan. “I pity this poor state if lightning should strike and this cad becomes governor amidst the problems that the state has. He’d have a nervous breakdown. There’s no there there.”

Although there are also fervent supporters, dozens of interviews with City Hall staffers, strategists, and fundraisers yielded a surprising amount of disapproval.

Well-known consultants Jim Ross and Bob Brigham — who both worked on Newsom’s 2003 campaign — and 2007 campaign staffer David Latterman all have reservations.

“I’m concerned that his record and his temperament will not be fully vetted by the press,” Ross said.

Brigham was more direct. “I think Gavin would be a pretty awful governor,” he said, though he’s not too worried about it happening: “I don’t see any path to the nomination anymore.”

Hey buddy, can you spare a smell?

It’s been a slow August around here.

That’s because Gavin Newsom hasn’t been in San Francisco, while some of his press release ideas have failed. Just another typical month in the City by the Bay.

To recap the August smells of summer:

– Gavin Newsom is merely a dick, not a criminal. Or so says a legal expert about a city attorney memo Gavin leaked to the media about San Francisco’s sanctuary city policy.

– Why did Gavin go to Chicago to raise money and talk to ignorant young voters outside of CA? Newsom must now think he’s the white Barack Obama.

– PG&E Wave Power is dead in northern California. This “green” Gavin press release idea actually destroys the environment. Common sense prevails!

– Gavin doesn’t have solid support for the Governor’s race. Some recent polls show that the man-child mayor may never realize his fantasy of being the Gavinator.

Will September bring news of his gubernatorial campaign shutting down?

Dear Gavin... You got to be real! Love, Cheryl

The Chronicle — It’s about time Mayor Gavin Newsom’s hometown daily newspaper started fact-checking his campaign statements.

His campaign speeches and pronouncements are so littered with exaggerations that it’s not very hard to separate reality from fantasy.

After Calbuzz and others called out the Chronicle for overlooking the obvious, the daily newspaper finally “got real” about Gavin’s extravagant claims.

Here’s a summary of their fact-checks on Gavin:

On universal healthcare:

Newsom has won praise from President Obama for the plan, but the mayor rarely mentions that then-Supervisor Tom Ammiano was its key catalyst; the mayor originally opposed employer mandates that are a major component.”

On education:

The mayor has no official role in the public schools except to appoint people to vacant school board seats. While he has been more involved in schools than previous mayors, he can’t claim credit for rising test scores and other academic achievements.”

On the environment:

San Francisco’s green credentials are strong, and Newsom has earned plaudits for championing them. But the specifics of some of his claims are hard to verify from third-party sources.”

On taxes and budget:

The no-new-taxes claim is technically true – for now – but just about everybody in the city will be dipping into their pockets more to pay for city services.”

Here’s my personal shout out to Gavin Newsom — watch what you say because now even your own lazy hometown daily newspaper is starting to pay attention to your speechifying in Fresno, Santa Barbara, Sacramento, or wherever else you might be, when you’re not governing San Francisco.

Deleted, not forgotten.

Late yesterday while drinking a burning hot café macchiato, I opened up the San Francisco Chronicle.

On page A11, Phil Bronstein tore Mayor Gavin Newsom a new one in his most excellent Opinon piece entitled, “Where is our next generation of leaders?”

Gavin Newsom is our shining hope? Really? Beyond his own self-generated image of brilliant wonkiness and charm, where’s the list of Gavin’s young contemporaries who might actually fill out those size 14 public service shoes in interesting and effective ways with help from the pros?

I couldn’t wait to get home, get the story link from SFGATE, and post a story right here in this very spot. Because in the very same piece, Bronstein went on to compare Newsom with Twitter co-founder, Biz Stone:

In Twitter, Stone has created a profound new platform that inspires people, unlike Newsom, whose own platform is like cotton candy and who leases space on Twitter to spin it.

But I could not link to this awesome quote. Why?

Because the San Francisco Chronicle deleted the story from their website, SFGATE.

Don’t believe me?  Here is the Google search result:

Now you see it, now you don't.

This cool blog posted part of the story before it was deleted. So I’m not going crazy. It was online and public, and then it vanished.

I guess Gavin Newsom’s PR machine will go any length to bury a story they don’t like — it’s no secret that Newsom’s shills regularly berate Chronicle reporters and editors.

I guess that sinking ship called the San Francisco Chronicle has no integrity left.

Sigh.

The cover-up is always worse than the crime.

Why?

Two peas, one pod.

Calbuzz is calling out Gavin Newsom’s hometown newspaper.

Why?

Because the San Francisco Chronicle rarely, if ever, fact checks the mayor’s claims.

Calbuzz writers have been waiting and waiting and waiting for the mayor’s hometown newspaper to help California’s voters — and the state’s press corps — make an informed judgment of how Newsom’s extravagant claims stack up against the true facts.

From universal health insurance to financial aid for schools, from balanced budgets to economic development and job creation, from homelessness to immigration, to hear him tell it, there’s seemingly no area of public policy where the Superman Mayor has not made San Francisco a veritable paradise on earth.

And over at Streetsblog SF, Chris Carlsson isn’t waiting, but makes a similar observation about Newsom.

Newsom is a vacuous politician with no rudder or internal gyroscope grounded in any values other than what will get him on to the next stop of his political ambition.

Have you noticed a consistent theme here? Gavin Newsom is full of “bold” pronouncements and extravagant claims, but falls short on delivery.

Our current Governor is already known for his own extravagant claims.

Can California really afford to replace Arnold’s platform shoes with Gavin’s hair gel?

I think not.