When a candidate is so far ahead of his opponents right out of the gate, when his success seems all but guaranteed before the contest even begins, it can seem easy for a newspaper to endorse him. But Bloomberg won our endorsement the old-fashioned way: he earned it. Just look at the facts.
   Crime rates continue to tumble. In 2001, when Bloomberg took office, 649 people were murdered in the city. Last year the number was 523 — just about what it was in the early ’60s. These are astonishing figures. More astonishing still is that in the first half of this year, only 211 people were murdered, a 22 percent drop since last year, putting the city on track to record its lowest number of killings since the early ’30s. And it’s not about economics or some vague nationwide trend, as some would have you believe — it’s about leadership and policy. Other major cities that have not followed New York’s lead have not seen the same results. Bloomberg, and his immediate predecessor, should get the credit for an extremely important job done extremely well.
   Bloomberg has also greatly improved education for the city’s children. Test scores don’t count for everything, but they count for an awful lot, and they’ve skyrocketed under mayoral control of the schools. The long-standing, insidious gap between black and white student performance narrows by the year. So does the gap between the city and the rest of the state, an incredible achievement given the demographic and economic differences between, say, Elmhurst and Great Neck. Again, what Bloomberg has done is astonishing.
   Then there’s the budget crisis. Who better to handle it than a self-made billionaire who knows all there is to know about the bottom line? The answer is no one, and that’s why New York is not facing the debacle it did in the 1970s, but is instead getting by with some reduction of the workforce, but no real curtailment of services. It’s another astonishing piece of management for which Bloomberg deserves the credit. He is the right man for these times.
   And for future times. Even when the economy improves, you can expect the mayor to continue trying to rein in the public employee pension costs that still threaten to strangle the city financially. He’ll simultaneously be making the Big Apple even more livable with PlaNYC, his long-term project to increase green space, protect drinking water and promote environmental responsibility. Decades after Willets Point earned its reputation as a toxic dump, Bloomberg is pressing forward with its redevelopment, which will include revenue generators like a hotel as well as affordable housing, something the city needs more of, and a school for the children who move there. No other mayor has worked so hard to improve this key piece of Queens real estate.
   These are more than enough reasons to re-elect Bloomberg. And his opponents? City Comptroller Bill Thompson Jr., is a fine public servant but cannot hold a candle to the incumbent. Queens Councilman Tony Avella, for better or worse, is an also-ran right off the bat, lacking the citywide support of either major candidate.
   No, this race is Bloomberg’s, and we’re proud to endorse one of the best mayors this city has ever had.