Finally.

Mayor Gavin Newsom was cornered by spoke to reporters yesterday outside his office. While the Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam visited City Hall last night, Newsom stayed inside his office, hiding from reporters. But, being the crafty little critters that they are, local journos found him when he emerged. (Newsom did, we should point out, grant an interview with San Francisco's own Corky Sherwood, Ken Garcia, last Friday.)

Asked what the mayor has been doing since his return, Newsom spit back, "Working hard. And that's all I really have to say."

When CBS 5's Joe Vasquez asked, "There [are] some people who might be reading the newspaper or seeing this on TV, saying, 'What's going on with our mayor? Is he OK?'" Newsom defensively shot back, "I'm doing fantastic. I think you guys should consider your reporting."

Then, Newsom stormed off in a huff, trying to escape out a back exit. Watch raw footage of the uncomfortable press meet-and-greet here.

Vasquez, if you recall, was kicked out of City Hall last week for, well, doing his job.

Anyway, most press types are asking why Newsom doesn't just tell local media that he needs time away from the spotlight -- time to heal, if you will. But having confused the press as his own personal public relations team for quite some time, it looks like he's now blaming reporters for his having to drop out of the race. He's blaming the nanny for getting into trouble with mother and father. Which, of course, is absurd and unnecessarily bratty.

Gavin's spokesman, Nate Ballard, if you recall, quit yesterday. Former Ballard nemesis Chris Daly had nothing but kind words to say about the former Director of Communications, which can mean only one thing: "Ballard's exit is merely a symptom of the overall malaise" at City Hall.