How come this seat is at such a low level? You know, I'm looking at him. He's got this stage rigged, folks. Just here. No, no, no. But get-- That seat is a good half-- six inches higher than my seat. And so am I. Huh? I see. What were you like as a kid? What kind of childhood did you have? Well, I had a good childhood, wonderful parents, really good parents, and it was a good, solid childhood, I'd say. Very normal in a lot of respects, but a very, very solid childhood. Yeah. From a standpoint of family, you know. Are you a driven person? Did you jump out of bed in the morning and just-- Well, I don't think of myself as driven. I'm fortunate. I don't need lots of sleep, like some people and some people don't. I don't need that. I would say that I'm somebody that enjoys what I do, and I enjoy it so much that perhaps I do it well. But I really enjoy what I do. I don't like to think of myself as driven. I don't like to think of myself really as ambitious. I just enjoy what I do. What would it take-- what kind of a hit would it take to get your attention, where you would maybe need a drink? Where somebody came in and said, "Don, we got some bad news." That's 7-11 in Akron. Well-- What? Hopefully, David, I wouldn't be in a position where I'd have to take that kind of-- I know that. I know. We're just pretending. I just want to tell you that-- You act like you're running for something. No. What's the deal with you and Ed Koch? Is this an old irritation between the two of you, or is this something new? No, it's really not. Ed Koch is a man who I've liked at some points in terms of-- I have no objection to Ed, except for one thing. He's not a very capable or competent mayor. He's done-- Whoa! He's done a bad-- as most of you New Yorkers would probably know, he's done a pretty bad job running New York, and that hurts me and it hurts everybody. And when I see somebody that's not competent and he's running something, and something that I have a big-- really a big stake in, it bothers me and I do something about it. Are you speaking from a position of somebody who has a lot of really, really special interest in the city? No, it's not a-- I do have a special interest. I have a special interest in New York. New York City is a hot city. It's a great city. It's the greatest city in the world, according to many, and according-- you're here and we're also here. Right. And I hate to see some of the things happening with New York that have happened under the Koch administration. So I hit him pretty hard in the book, but I hit him fairly in the book. I hit him very fairly. Probably very hard in the book, but very fairly. Is it kind of a pointless defense to say that this city is so big that it is actually unmanageable to a certain extent, and he's doing the best he can, sort of just ending it day to day? No, I don't think so. I mean, I hope that's never a defense of anybody. I did the Wollman skating rink in four months for two million or two and a half million dollars. They started seven years before that and were unable to build it. I think they spent something like 15 million dollars. This is a huge ice skating facility in Central Park, which the city was-- Seven years. Seven years. Seven years, they could not get it open. They could not build it, and we did it in four months. So, you know, you say, "Hey, it's big and everything else," and give them a little bit more time, but the fact is, that's a disgrace. The zoos are a disgrace. The subways, the schools. It's really management. It's management. It's competence. It's capability. It's just basic ability, and Ed Koch doesn't have it. Yeah, but you're speaking again from the over-the-fence and private enterprise. He's trying to run a municipal administration. It can be done. You think it could be done? Absolutely. By the right person, it could be done. Yeah. Any thoughts? I mean, would you want to be mayor of the city? No, I wouldn't want to. It'd run very well if I was mayor, but I would not want to be the mayor of New York. And what about the -- are people trying to draft you to run for a president up in New Hampshire? Well, I guess a lot of people want to see this country -- it's a shame what's happening. Japan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, they're all -- everybody's taken advantage of the United States. People know that if certain people are running a country, that it won't happen. I mean, when you look at Japan not paying for the defense, we're defending Japan. We're losing billions and billions of dollars. We're fighting for AIDS help and for farmers and for this and that, and it's a shame. And the Japanese folks, who I respect greatly, but they're not treating us fairly. They're really not treating us fairly. Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, they're not paying us anything. For the services we're rendering, I think it's a disgrace. And I think people look at certain people, and maybe me, if I were in a position, this country, believe me, would not be ripped off like it is. And it is just being ripped off so badly by our so-called allies. Yeah. So that's a pretty strong statement. So now are you saying -- How do I get strong? I think it's fair. And by the way, I have tremendous respect for the Japanese. I do a lot of business with the Japanese. And they smile about it too. They know it. The country is losing billions and billions of dollars to Japan, and we can't afford to lose. And it's a shame. It's a shame. But so now, are you saying this by way of indicating that you could do it better, and you do intend to run for president at some point? No, I'm not going to run for president, but I think somebody -- Now, in eight years, if you came back, would you have a different answer? In four years, if you came back. I tend to doubt it. I really tend to doubt it. But I just think that there are so many ways that this country can straighten itself out, and we're not going about those ways. Cutting farm aid is not the appropriate thing. Cutting help for the homeless and help for the poor and welfare. Certain things can be done that really will mean big dollars to this country. And those things are not being done right now. Let me ask you one other question, because I know you have other appointments and stuff to get to. If you go to dinner and the bill is like, say, $25, how much of a tip would you throw down? Well, you know, the way I feel about tips, if somebody does a super job, I give more than anyone. And if somebody does a lousy job, I probably give less than anybody. And that's the way I feel about life. Life should be -- you should be rewarded for competence and capability in doing a job and having a smile on your face, maybe, if that's the case. I'm a pretty good tipper when somebody's good, and I'm a pretty lousy tipper if somebody's not good. So that's the way it is. But, you know, sitting here listening to this stuff, it seems to me you are dying to get to some public platform to superimpose those feelings upon the American awareness. Well, maybe so, but I'm not. I would like to have the feelings known and let somebody else do it, and it can be done. If it's carried, if the ball's carried correctly, it can be done. Yeah, but if you want something done right -- Do it yourself.
Transcribed automatically. Expect errors in names and numbers.
