"I'm not really inclined to do it right now," you said. Seriously.

I understand. It's heady stuff being you right now. You jet from Sweden to San Francisco to promote your green initiatives. From Washington to Washington, you bellow your "No More" rant against the president and his war. A chiseled caricature on the cover of The Nation compares you to Rocky, that Hollywood icon of the downtrodden. And Newsweek appoints you an "expert" on its global warming panel.

It could all go to your head.

But there is reason for caution here, Mr. Mayor - or at least a little humility. Remember Deedee Corradini? The darling of Olympic boosters, gun control advocates and mass transit riders everywhere? Your predecessor in the Salt Lake City Mayor's Office?

She, too, was embraced by the nation's progressives. Elected president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors by her peers, Corradini also repeatedly flew off to D.C. to testify. She Renaissance weekended with the Clintons in Charleston, S.C.

Remember her? Neither does anyone else.

Sidelined by a scandal after she begged the city's movers and shakers for money, Corradini's star faded. She got married and moved to South Carolina. Reduced to the unemployed politician's fallback, Corradini nurtured young minds at Furman University.

Finally, she moved back to Salt Lake City, where more people knew her name.

But her efforts to get a high-minded think tank job in Utah stalled. Now, she is a vice president for Prudential Real Estate and president of Women's Ski Jumping USA.

I bring up Deedee for context. The moral of her story is: No one cares once you leave elective office.

You seem aware of your fleeting fame, Rocky, cramming as many appearances into your last years in office as you can. You work the freak factor, boasting a job as a liberal mayor from the "reddest of the red states." And you've found two fan bases: Americans angry about the war in Iraq and those frustrated by global warming. They'll trot you out as often as possible to promote their causes. You're the flavor of the month.

No doubt, many Salt Lake City residents love what you're doing. Your existence proves that at least one city in Utah isn't the conservative backwater most outside the state assume. Your willingness to shout yourself hoarse for an hour at President Bush's expense stirs their souls. The chagrin of Utah's Republican establishment is icing.

As I figure it, you have 10 more months to find your own think tank, start a grass-roots political movement or run for president as a third-party candidate. Next January, without that title behind your name and the City-County Building as a platform for world stardom, you're on your own.

walsh@sltrib.com