Mayor Tom Menino is a man with many bizarre obsessions, most of which involve removing every last city-like quality from Boston. There’s his unending quest to rid the city of all its sin, including those damned caricature artists. He’d also like to redevelop the entire area, starting with the area near Fenway Park and carrying the magic all the way to Downtown Crossing.

How will Hizzoner finance this grand vision for the once-mighty Downtown Crossing? He’ll tax the already-struggling businesses in the neighborhood to pay someone to give tourists directions to DSW.

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We thought this felt like the longest week ever because we’re anxiously awaiting the day-long gorgefest that awaits us next Thursday. But upon further reflection, we think the interminableness of this week is due to the fact that City Councilor Michael Flaherty and Mayor Tom Menino won’t stop fighting.

At least Flaherty switched it up today. Instead of talking policy (and allowing Menino to steal his thunder), the Councilor decided to take Hizzoner to task for bringing 52 new city employees on board during an alleged hiring freeze.

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Mayor Tom Menino and Boston City Councilor Mike Flaherty have been fighting all week for the title of most mayoral-looking. As the men scrapped over the dismal college performance by Boston Public School students, Flaherty tried to change the topic of discussion to greening up City Hall.

We predicted that Menino would come up with a competing idea sometime today. But Hizzoner didn’t even wait that long.

Councilor at Large Michael F. Flaherty wants to make City Hall a green building. But before Flaherty could unveil his proposals yesterday, Mayor Thomas M. Menino said he wants to make the entire vicinity around City Hall a green neighborhood.

As the kids on the Internet say: Flaherty got pwnd. Big time.

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Yesterday, Mayor Tom Menino took City Councilor and rumored mayoral hopeful Michael Flaherty to school. Just weeks after Flaherty suggested free online SAT prep program for Boston Public School students, Menino countered by saying that it’s not only getting into college that’s important, it’s staying there.

Menino’s vague plan (he’s apparently dubbed it a “challenge”) to help BPS students stay in school is taking shape today. Northeastern University will offer an intensive one-year program for students who aren’t ready for college, and the Boston Public Schools website lays out a three-pronged attack to help students get into universities and stay there. (Hat tip to Universal Hub for the link.)

The BPS plan? It includes SAT prep. Way to steal the Councilor’s thunder, Mayor!

But Flaherty isn’t taking this lying down. He’s going to have a hearing.

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Either mayor Tom Menino is getting ready to run for a fifth term, or he really doesn’t want to see City Councilor Michael Flaherty move into the mayor’s office when his term is over.

We’ve deduced this from some study results that headlined today’s Globe. The Boston Private Industry Council and the School Department found that only 35.5 percent of the Boston Public School class of 2000 that went on to some kind of secondary education earned a degree.

What’s that got to do with the mayoral race? Everything.

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We love completely unscientific surveys and rankings like everyone else, but we were sad to read that Boston City Hall has been ranked the ugliest building or monument by TripAdvisor.com’s editors and readers.

Wonderful. Now Mayor Tom Menino will never give up on his quest to move City Hall to the Waterfront. If the tourists are offended by the concrete behemoth, maybe they won’t spend their money here, and isn’t that what City Hall is really all about?

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We’ve got to admit, we’ve been a little listless since the presidential campaign ended. Instead of being distracted by Joe Six-Pack or William Ayres, we’re forced to pay attention to the stock market’s continued free-fall. Sure, we’ve got the debate over the White House puppy to uh, chew on, but there’s only so many angles to that story.

So we’re delighted the 2009 Boston mayoral race is starting to heat up.

Even Yvonne Abraham is getting involved!

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Talk about timing. A day before the Boston Public Health Commission was scheduled to approve or reject Mayor Tom Menino’s proposal to limit the sale of cigarettes and shutter cigar bars, a study by the State Department of Public Health found that the number of fatal heart attacks in Massachusetts has dropped precipitously since the state banned smoking in bars and restaurants.

Does this seem a little off to anyone else?

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Spotted: Mayor Tom Menino, ducking into McGreevy’s Pub at 12:30 this afternoon. Seeing the notoriously anti-vice mayor standing on the sidewalk outside a bar must have been quite the shock for passers-by on Boylston Street, but Hizzoner wasn’t there to knock back a mid-day pint.

Menino was stopping by to accept a Gold Record award from the Dropkick Murphys for their hit song, “Shipping Up to Boston.” Yes, our Italian-American mayor is quite the fan of Irish punk rock.

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We would have loved to be a fly on the wall at the meeting in which supporters of Question 2 decided to use pictures of two retired Boston cops in uniform in a pair of TV spots as the men talk about why they support repealing the criminal penalties for carrying small amounts of marijuana.

“Who’s going to care if we show the Boston police logo in our ad? These guys are retired. It’ll be totally cool.”

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