Left-handed Complement

MUDGE’S Musings

This nanocorner of the ‘Sphere© has been following the tease of a possible third-party candidacy for president by Michael Bloomberg, mayor of New York City for almost its entire existence:

Last summer the Bloomberg stories were thick on the ground, but had faded to the background as the skirmishing among the mainstream candidates heated up in Iowa and New Hampshire (and how do you feel about the reality of those tiny states with their tiny populations of single-issue largely rural [or in N.H.’s case, refugees from urban life] overwhelmingly homogenous Caucasians usurping your opportunity to influence the election process?), and Bloomberg himself publicly resisted overt movement.

Now, finally, on the cusp of 2008 itself, the third-party initiative opened itself for public view, and as far as NYTimes is concerned (and in this particular case, all politics are local, indeed), it’s all about Mayor Bloomberg.

Bloomberg Moves Closer to Running for President

By SAM ROBERTS | Published: December 31, 2007

Buoyed by the still unsettled field, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is growing increasingly enchanted with the idea of an independent presidential bid, and his aides are aggressively laying the groundwork for him to run.

On Sunday, the mayor will join Democratic and Republican elder statesmen at the University of Oklahoma in what the conveners are billing as an effort to pressure the major party candidates to renounce partisan gridlock.

Former Senator David L. Boren of Oklahoma, who organized the session with former Senator Sam Nunn, a Democrat of Georgia, suggested in an interview that if the prospective major party nominees failed within two months to formally embrace bipartisanship and address the fundamental challenges facing the nation, “I would be among those who would urge Mr. Bloomberg to very seriously consider running for president as an independent.”

Finally, Bloomberg has been showing some signs of interest…

And Mr. Bloomberg himself has become more candid in conversations with friends and associates about his interest in running, according to participants in those talks. Despite public denials, the mayor has privately suggested scenarios in which he might be a viable candidate: for instance, if the opposing major party candidates are poles apart, like Mike Huckabee, a Republican, versus Barack Obama or John Edwards as the Democratic nominee.

This is getting serious, indeed: tickets are being explored.

Mr. Boren declined to say which candidate would be strongest, but suggested “some kind of combination of those three: Bloomberg-Hagel, Bloomberg-Nunn.” He said Mr. Bloomberg would “not have to spend a lot of time raising money and he would not have to make deals with special interest groups to raise money.”

“Normally I don’t think an independent candidacy would have a chance” said Mr. Boren, who is the University of Oklahoma’s president. “I don’t think these are normal times.”

Certainly not normal times, indeed.

[Please click the link below for the complete article — but then please come on back!]

Bloomberg Moves Closer to Running for President – New York Times

It increasingly sounds like Michael Bloomberg could be talked into a run. And, yr (justifiably) humble svt believes that he’s got the chops to run a strong campaign (are we not all crying out for a change for the better?).

Most importantly, I believe that he would be ready to get immediately to work to fix the dysfunction he would inherit.

Bloomberg’s record of accomplishment as mayor of our biggest, toughest to govern metropolis is outstanding, and, we hasten to add, unlike a former mayor of NYC with troubling friends and private life, is not solely built on the manufactured post-perceptions of one horrible day.

Speaking of the times, we musn’t lose sight of the dire state of our vaunted democratic nation.

Thus, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share this video, not our usual style here at Left-Handed Complement.

Business as usual doesn’t cut it any longer.

Run, Michael Bloomberg, run!

It’s it for now. Thanks,

–MUDGE

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