KochYa!

Foot in mouth, ready to run

No sooner had Ed Koch announced that he was going to run for Governor of New York than Playboy magazine hit the stands with an interview as sizzling as any centerfold. The attraction: the New York mayor holding forth on everything from Black Leader Jesse Jackson ("bad news"), his own alleged racism ("b.s."), to cracks about all life outside his city. "Have you ever lived in the suburbs? It's sterile. It's wasting your life ... Rural America? This is a joke..."

Conducted back in December, the interview instantly reminded people of Jimmy Carter's infamous "adultery in my heart" Playboy quote in 1976. But Koch's comments may well cause greater political embarrassment. "Anyone who suggests I run for Governor," he confided to Playboy, "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." Upstate Republicans, who regard Koch as the strongest Democratic candidate, were delighted by his loose talk. Koch was asked if he would like to buy up all copies of the magazine? His answer: "If I could afford it, yes." For once, the mayor may not have been joking. sb

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