Lunch time comments..........from off the coast of Italy

Say what you want about former Police Commission Member and the Developer of "The Grove" Shopping Center Rick Caruso. But Caruso leaves no doubt that he is thoroughly enjoying his "fifteen minutes of blogging speculation'' on whether he will join Walter Moore in challenging Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for Mayor in 2009.

The L.A. Times contacted Caruso via cellphone, on a boat of the coast of Italy. Sit back and enjoy these "Carusoisms" regarding his interest in the 2009 Mayor's race.

So far no other major candidate has declared, but there other people thinking about running -- namely billionaire mall magnate Rick Caruso.

When reached by cellphone this week while sailing off the coast of Italy, Caruso said he will make his decision in the coming months.

It's clear that he's enjoying the reaction he's received as a possible contender.

"Lots of people have called me," he said. He paused and asked one of his sons on the boat: "Do you think I should run?" The answer was a resounding yes. Stay tuned, Caruso said, upbeat on his vacation. He joked: "Antonio could be my running mate."

One gets the idea that Caruso is playing head games with the Mayor who is in the middle of his "TROLL FOR DOUGH A-THON".

Meanwhile back in Hollywood, members of our myopic entertainment community continue in the quest to build up their fellow "star's" campaign war chest in the maybe, "forlorn hope" of scaring any additional challengers to the re-election hopes of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. These Comments from Kerman Maddox.

"People look at him as they would a movie star (well maybe the "sancho character" in a novella)," said public affairs consultant Kerman Maddox, who has been raising campaign cash for Villaraigosa and Democratic presidential candiate Sen. Barack Obama. "When I travel, everyone knows who the mayor of Los Angeles is. You couldn't always say that."

....and this prediction from Maddox,

"Caruso would make the race interesting," said Maddox. "But he can't win. Take that to the bank."

Maddox who I respected in his days on KCET's Life and Times Show with Hugh Hewitt and LA Times Columnist Patt Morrison, needs to get out and about to areas of the city like Sunland-Tujunga, South L.A., West L.A. and that "barometer of political opinion" CD 14, to gauge what is a brewing backlash aimed at a certain "third floor office holder".