Mayor says he keeps closest touch

"I haven't lost touch with people," he said, smiling and taking a bite. "You saw the people here."

More than any policy or bold vision, this is why Menino believes he deserves a record fifth term: He thinks that he alone knows the city in all its rich complexity, from the downtown business community to the new families moving into Charlestown to the longtime residents of Dudley Square.

During a wide-ranging interview with the Globe, his first since announcing his bid for reelection, Menino offered no soaring rhetoric or splashy new proposals. Instead, he made clear that he believes that his opponents, Councilors Sam Yoon and Michael F. Flaherty and businessman Kevin McCrea, lack the gut-level feeling for Boston necessary to guide the city through a grueling recession.

"I understand the neighborhoods of Boston," the mayor said. "I'm not parochial. I understand Charlestown, Roxbury. I have Allston-Brighton. I understand them all. They'll have to talk about their priorities, the decisions they've made."

By turns testy and boastful, Menino kicked back in a chair and pounded the table as he vented frustrations and sketched his agenda. The 66-year-old mayor is by all accounts facing his toughest fight for reelection since taking office in 1993. Flaherty is a nine-year council veteran with a base of support in South Boston and a well-funded campaign. Yoon is a Korean immigrant and Princeton graduate with a desire to energize new voters.

But Menino said: "I know there's one guy who can do the job. It's me."

He said his friends had urged him not to run, saying: "Tommy, walk away from it. You're at the top of your game." He said his wife, Angela, also expressed reservations, asking if it wouldn't be better to take a vacation, instead of pressing the flesh at late-night neighborhood meetings.

"Sometimes in the summer, it gets lonely out there by yourself," the mayor said. But, ultimately, he decided that if he were to quit, "I'd be walking away from something I care about," Menino said.

Over breakfast, with his spokeswoman, Dot Joyce, at the table, he showed little interest in engaging his opponents by name. But he made clear he has strong opinions about them. He jabbed subtly at Yoon, who has campaigned for a "new politics," suggesting that might be better suited for a university classroom than the mayor's office.

"I can philosophize about a lot of things," the mayor said when asked about Yoon. "But philosophizing doesn't make the city better."

He suggested that Flaherty is more apt to criticize than offer substance. "That's the difference between me and my opponents," Menino said. "I have to make tough decisions. They can just -" and he stopped and pretended to pull the pin out of a grenade with his teeth and lob it to his side.

He grew testiest when asked about persistent City Hall rumors that he will step down midway through his term and hand the position to the City Council president, much as he did when he became acting mayor after Mayor Raymond L. Flynn resigned. At first, Menino said he had no intention of stepping down. When pressed, he went a step further.

"As I sit right here with you today at Sorella's, I'm going to finish my four years, unless I get sick," Menino said, pounding the table. "I'm not going for another job. Next job I have, I'm going to travel the world."

As for a possible sixth term, aides said later that Menino is focused on winning this campaign.

He outlined mostly modest policy goals, like improving attractions on the harbor islands, making sure new buildings don't cast shadows on the Rose Kennedy Greenway, and making it easier for residents to pay bills online.

Most of his agenda reflects the austerity of his proposed budget, which would eliminate the jobs of 212 teachers and 67 police officers, along with dozens of workers in libraries and community centers.

He said he wants to increase after-school programs by better linking schools, libraries, and community centers. He also wants more officers walking beats, by transferring them from the mounted, drug, and homicide units.

Asked if that would degrade the city's ability to solve slayings and drug crimes, he scoffed. "Your question to me is typical negativism," he said. "We've got to think about how we can do more with less and be creative in our services. That's what I look to do."

The mayor, who was reluctant to debate in past campaigns, said yesterday that he would debate his opponents twice before the preliminary election Sept. 22, and once before the general election Nov. 3.

"There will be a time and place to respond and give my message," he said. "But with my job as mayor, you cannot be out there throwing potshots. You've got to govern."

He checked his watch: 9:40 a.m. The man who in July will become Boston's longest-serving mayor needed to get to his next appointment, speaking at a shelter in Dorchester. Later, he would help release the famed swans in the Public Garden. Leaving most of his home fries untouched, he got up and thanked the chef.

"It's not about me," he said, as he excused himself, shaking a few hands on the way out. "I care about Boston."