Bloomberg's Phone Number

Much was made last week about New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg's revelation that he has retained a publicly listed phone number since he was elected, and seems to have had it published in the white pages since he was CEO of his eponynous media company.
This is supposed to show that he's just a down to earth guy who, as he puts it, hasn't forgotten that he works for the people.
I haven't tried dialing up Mayor Mike at 10 p.m. to complain that my streetlight is out or to ask for an interview (although the latter notion is tempting.) But I'm going to go out on a limb and say it's likely 99.5 percent or more of the people who call his home number -- particularly since its listing has been publicized -- will get either a busy signal or a staff member of his East Side mansion picking up the phone. And if you think he doesn't have several other phone numbers unlisted, you're nuts. (If he wants to really show how accessible he is, let's see him give out his cell phone number.)
There's no shame in having an unlisted number when you're a celebrity or a public official or anyone in the public eye who cannot reasonably accomodate all those seeking a conversation with you. Go to any public event that the mayor attends and you will see how many people swamp him with questions, complaints and photo requests as he tries to get into his car. There are, after all, 8 million of us and one mayor.
Having met Bloomberg a few times I can say he is not a pretentious person and can be quite gracious and personable.
But it's ridiculous to pretend that he's somehow just another everyman because he rides the subway and has his number listed. Who wouldn't ride the subway when you have NYPD bodyguards surrounding you? And who wouldn't have his number listed when you have a staff to take messages? The vast majority of us 8 million don't have those amenities.
When rich people try to act like regular people, whether it's Bloomberg buying the $600 bicycle before a possible transit strike or President George H.W. Bush checking out the price code scanner in a supermarket, more often than not it's just a clumsy way of reminding us how irregular they are.