Mayor Bloomberg appeared on the Maury Povich show where he discussed his breastfeeding crusade:
MAURY POVICH: Mayor Bloomberg, thanks for joining us.
BLOOMBERG: It’s always a pleasure to be in front of television cameras.
MAURY POVICH: Mr. mayor, you’ve been awfully busy making laws restricting the freedoms of your citizens. You’ve forced restaurants and food vendors to stop using trans fat and you’ve banned the sale of large-sized sugar-sweetened beverages. In 2002 you banned smoking in restaurants and bars and last year you extended that ban to include parks and beaches. Then last month you authorized NYPD officers to begin executing anyone smoking cigarettes within city limits.
BLOOMBERG: The health and welfare of my followers, I mean, citizens, is my first priority.
MAURY POVICH: Now you want to force women to breastfeed? What’s that all about?
BLOOMBERG: Surprisingly I’ve been able to restrict lots of personal freedoms without the slightest resistance. So the other day when I was really bored I decided it was a good time to force New York women to breastfeed their babies.
MAURY POVICH: It is surprising that New Yorkers are allowing you to exert so much power over them without protest. One of the attractive things about the city has always been it’s reputation for not having any rules. It used to be said that anything goes in New York.
BLOOMBERG: That’s before I took power, I mean, office. I’m much more intelligent than my citizens so I’ve implemented rules intended to save them from themselves. By doing what I tell them my people will live longer than if they were left to their own counsel. And isn’t living a long, healthy life what it’s all about?
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MAURY POVICH: Mayor Bloomberg, does it really matter to you if kids are breast-fed?
BLOOMBERG: (laughs) Of course not!
MAURY POVICH: So why are you pursuing this?
BLOOMBERG: I’m a 70 year-old man worth 22 billion dollars and I’m bored out of my mind! Watching millions of people do what I tell them can be somewhat amusing.
MAURY POVICH: So everything’s just been for your own amusement?
BLOOMBERG: Pretty wild, huh? (Laughs loudly and high-fives Maury)
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