We need a speech like that now. Two many New Yorkers are still out of work. Too many are facing foreclosure and homelessness. Too many small businesses are faltering. Too many stores are closing.  “We will continue insisting that government remain on the side of every hard-working New Yorker,” Bloomberg declared.

Well, Mr. Mayor, how exactly are you going to do that? Up to 1,000 families will get $10,000 grants to refinance their mortgages. Fine, but isn’t that the proverbial drop in the proverbial bucket?

Debt-crushed New Yorkers who vow to handle their money better could get no-fee bank accounts. That’s just great. They could save, what, $30, $40 a month? Not exactly a life-changing sum.

$750 million to help apartment-building owners avoid foreclosure is a good idea, but it all depends on how this is actually done. If it just gives slumlords the chance to hold onto their rat-infested, dilapidated buildings, it’d be better to just give the money to tenants to find a decent place to live.

Sorry, Mike, but your address was about as strong as your lead over Bill Thompson.