Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch this week left open the possibility that he would serve alongside Hillary Rodham Clinton if she secures the Democratic nomination for president in 2008.

The Simean shocker came during a wide-ranging interview Koch granted Washington Gadfly Evan Gahr on Tuesday for his new book One of My Best Friends was a Demented anti-Semite (Easter 2007).

Washington Gadfly: Lots of people I interviewed before coming to your Bryan Cave office for this interview) said that if Hillary choose you as her vice-presidential running mate they would vote for you.

Ed Koch: That's ridiculous.

Washington Gadfly: Would you accept it.

Ed Koch: I don't deal in ridiculous things.

It's no more ridiculous than Lloyd Bentsen as veep.

And when is politics anything but the art of the ridiculous?

Meanwhile, Koch said Jack Abramoff should be flailed for embarassing the Jewish community.

Who should do the flailing?

"I'll do it" if nobody else does.

Evan Gahr EvanGahr@aol.com has written for the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, Washington Jewish Week and many other publications.