NEW YORK May 23 (DPI) – Most announcements for runs at public office are met with fanfare, some manufactured and some a show of genuine support among the public and the media.

But what happened last week when New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio announced plans to run for President of United States was, well, not simply surprising – it was unprecedented in digital-era politics.

Candidates always have their detractors, but de Blasio received a reader response in The New York Times about as scathing and hilariously dismissive as any presidential candidate has ever seen.  The second most-popular post among 900 reader comments: “That’s gonna cut into Gillibrand’s 0%.”

De Blasio, a proudly liberal Democrat who becomes the 23rd announced candidate from his party, took heat even from those New Yorkers who voted for him. The avalanche of negative posts relating to his candidacy suggests that the 58-year-old mayor will wash out quickly.

Among the most popular reader comments:

Before setting sights on the White House…could he and Cuomo get my 2 train to occasionally show up on time? Please? Bill de Blasio may have all the progressive ideals necessary for this race, but he has repeatedly demonstrated a total inability to effectively govern. Compared to his predecessor – a man with views far less similar to mine – his skills as an executive and administrator are sorely lacking. It doesn’t make a compelling case for the presidency. It’s telling that his own advisors cautioned against this. His constituents would too. It will not be a good look when he fails to win a substantial percentage of primary votes in his home city or state (same for Gillibrand, actually.) The level of delusion a run like this takes is mind-boggling.

Charity begins at home. He could actually try being mayor of New York. Before heading onto the national scene, he could work on homeless, the subways, traffic and corruption in his own administration before he doesn’t do the job in Washington.

“Bill de Blasio, Mayor of New York City, Announces Run for President” That reads like an Onion headline.

Mr. de Blasio is the sort of Democrat who causes other Democrats to vote Republican. He needs to find something else to do other than run for president.

Such a misguided decision. The field is crowded and he won’t even garner hometown or home state support. A pretty fatal flaw for a mayor in a national race.

As a lifelong New Yorker who has had the misfortune of living under two terms of Mr. de Blasio as Mayor, I can safely say that I would not vote for him for dogcatcher. He has little style and no substance.