The headlines read “Bloomberg Leaves Republican Party,” but my question is when was he ever in it after winning in 2001? He fooled me so completely that I campaigned for him that year, but by 2002 I was comparing him to Mayor Dinkins.

Yet he won reelection handily and many New Yorkers think he’s done a great job as mayor. They must all be real estate developers, because one thing I’ll give Bloomberg credit for is giving them the heart and soul of New York City while driving real New Yorkers to other states.

Although Mr. Bloomberg has denied he’s running for president, he’s been telegraphing the move since May 2006, when he came out of what I called “his cocoon of political deceit.” I predicted then that he would start appealing to Democrats who were having second thoughts about Senator Clinton and would start spouting left-wing mantras to get support from Hollywood celebs.

So where has our mayor been lately? In California, telling Americans that the U.S. is in trouble. It sure is — and liberal politicians like him are why.

Conservatives are routinely depicted as being single-minded on social issues, but the prime precept of conservatism is smaller government. As President Reagan was fond of saying, “The most terrifying words in the English language are: ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.'” But the quote that most applies to conservatism is: “Government’s first duty is to protect the people, not run their lives.” That governing principle is how one distinguishes a liberal from a conservative politician.

When earlier this month Senator Obama had the nerve to warn that, because of the frustration and resentment of black people still displaced after Hurricane Katrina, we might see more black riots, he unwittingly exposed the real reason this nation is in trouble — Americans dependent on the government to solve their problems. Did he mean to imply that if blacks don’t get what they want from the government, they’ll riot? What an insult to all blacks. Where’s the Reverend Al Sharpton?

The New Orleans community that tragically stayed behind waiting for help had been so crippled by dependence on the local Democratic government, they failed to protect themselves. Another Reagan quote: “Government doesn’t solve problems, it subsidizes them.” Curiously, actor Sean Penn did not visit the town of Greensburg, Kan., which was completely wiped out by a killer tornado last month. Red states need not apply for compassion, right?

We New Yorkers used to be sophisticated, somewhat cynical, somewhat jaded, but always tough and nervy. Since the beginning of the Bloomberg administration, however, we are known as wimpy doormats stepped on by a city that balances its budget by ticketing unsuspecting citizens for breaking draconian bureaucratic laws: can’t smoke, can’t eat trans fats. The answer to everything seems to be a tax, a ticket, or a fine.

These piddling offenses with expensive fees have helped the mayor brag about his budget surplus; meanwhile, the police force is at an all-time low. Gee, maybe we can’t recruit quality applicants with a starting salary of only $25,100.

Johnny still can’t read English but the Department of Education is doing its best — with a $14 billion budget — to make sure he tolerates other cultures with special charter schools.

Our economy is booming, but I’m scratching my head trying to figure out how the mayor can take credit for that. Could it be President Bush’s tax cuts that are responsible? Meanwhile, more than 1 million native New Yorkers have left the city for more affordable towns since 2001.

Lee Anthony Nieves just resigned his position as deputy director of the Mayor’s Office of Veteran Affairs and moved to Charlotte, S.C. In an op-ed for the New York Post titled “Ex-New Yorker — Why I’m Gone,” he writes: “There is the onus of the New York way of life, with its high cost of living, and ceaseless left-wing extremism. Utility costs run high; apartment rents, and home prices are so out of touch with the average middle-class salary that a family of four increasingly can’t live comfortably. … And then there’s the liberal political culture of Bush-bashing and anti-conservative hatred. No matter what the White House does to protect New Yorkers in particular and the nation as a whole, it’s either never enough, wrong, illegal, or stupid.”

Mr. Nieves wrote me that he has met quite a few ex-New Yorkers in Charlotte who all left for the same basic reason — New York City is no longer New York City.

Mr. Bloomberg definitely deserves credit for that.