May was Thomas Menino's worst month ever. Still, don't be surprised to see the Boston mayor emerge from his troubles unscathed, as popular as he has always been.

Menino spent much of the month being beaten up in the press over a deal he cut two years ago with South Boston's political leadership.

During tense negotiations in 1998 over divvying up linkage monies from the construction of the city's new convention center, the mayor folded.

He capitulated to demands by City Council President James Kelly, state Sen. Stephen Lynch and state Rep. Jack Hart that one community - South Boston - get the lion's share of the proceeds, which were to be used to build new housing.

To make matters worse, Menino agreed to let a newly created organization, the South Boston Betterment Trust, distribute the money, even though it is subject to little outside scrutiny and is controlled by Kelly's allies.

On top of that, Kelly has made it clear that he doesn't think fair housing laws should bind the trust.

When newspaper accounts exposed the deal, Menino moved to disavow it, thereby infuriating some South Boston residents and incurring the wrath of Kelly who, for what seems to be the umpteenth time, is no longer speaking to the mayor.

By no measure does the mayor look good in this one.

From one perspective he looks too willing to cut backroom deals that trade off the long-term interest of the entire city of Boston for short-term gain.

From another, he looks too willing to renege on promises he clearly has made.

It's his biggest blunder ever; a blunder, some argue gleefully, that is perhaps fatal.

Yeah, sure. This crisis plus 33 cents will get Menino's opponents the price of postage.

In truth, Menino will muddle through the linkage imbroglio. Kelly, Lynch and Hart will eventually relent, a compromise will be worked out, Kelly will start speaking to the mayor again and six months from now it will all be forgotten. Menino's approval ratings, now hovering around 80 percent, will continue to be sky-high.

How so?

A hint of an answer can be found in the city's playgrounds.

While the press was besieging him with criticism over the South Boston deal, Menino spent most of May visiting virtually every significant playground in the city. Few reporters followed him on his tour.

Billed as coffee hours, the mayor would show up with a coterie of staff from the parks and recreation department.

He'd spend several hours at each one. Instead of standing in front of a crowd and giving a speech, Menino would wander around, talking to parents and their children one-on-one. He'd listen to suggestions and field complaints.

It was the kind of stuff few politicians do, particularly those who are six years into their tenure. Most prefer to sit in their offices, thinking big thoughts and meeting with important people.

Not Menino. He enjoys talking to people. He likes being out on the streets.

More importantly, he knows it's smart politically.

The linkage deal is hardly the first scandal to have confronted the administration. But controversies in the past left the mayor virtually untouched, causing some to dub him, a la former President Reagan, the ``Teflon mayor.''

That's because Menino learned quickly that while grand issues, ideological clashes and back-room deals get a lot of media attention, average voters care more about quality of life issues. It's concerns like education, crime, parks and clean streets that dominate their everyday lives.

Indeed, if the linkage scandal does have legs, it will be because voters think the mayor is no longer delivering the basic, quality-of-life goods.

There are some disturbing signs in this regard.

A recent survey, conducted by the city at the end of last year, shows residents increasingly unhappy with basic city services.

For example, on issues like garbage and trash removal, traffic management and street maintenance, residents said they were more dissatisfied with the city's performance in 1999 than in 1997.

That should have been a wake-up call.

Perhaps that's why the mayor is out in the playgrounds. Perhaps that's why he has more than doubled spending on roads and sidewalks. Perhaps that's why he fills his calendar with community meetings in neighborhoods around the city.

Menino knows that bad press fades quickly. Litter on the streets, however, is not soon forgotten.

Tom Keane writes regularly for the Herald. He can be reached at tomkeane@tomkeane.com.