Oh boy, politics does indeed make strange bedfellows and right about now New York mayor Bloomberg may feel like he's crawled in the sack with some rather buggy fellows in his defense of the Ground Zero Mosque. First we find that Imam Rauf's primary fundraiser was but a very few years ago a waiter who has somehow saved enough really generous tips to negotiate real estate deals that involve tens of millions of dollars. I suppose that in America anything is possible but if this guy's legit, why hasn't an adoring Hollywood made a movie about his apparently fantastical life? Why no 60 Minutes segment with Katie Couric oohing and aahing about his amazing financial acumen and unbelievable entrepreneurial successes?

Right?

With the latest revelations that Imam Rauf and his bag man Sharif El-Gamal are most likely slum lords in the finest example of that long established New York tradition, the death-defying, never-say-die mayor may very shortly be looking for cleaner sleeping arrangements or at the very least some rather aggressive fumigation as well as symptomatic treatment for lingering bedbug bites.

Note to Bloomie: these bloodsuckers are known to hide in the cracks of headboards and bed frames until they need to come out and feed on their unsuspecting victims. Sounds sorta like New York slumlords, wouldn't you say?

And here's a thought: Since this insidious infestation seems to have blossomed in the Big Apple during Bloomie's reign, do you suppose that down the road these determined little pests will come to be known as Bloombugs?

Hmmm?