Another non-candidate does all the right things

Over this past weekend New York City's Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who surely is not running for president, visited New Hampshire, home of the nation's first presidential primary election. He said it was just a social trip.

Then he flew across the country to California to meet with San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom about getting guns off America's urban streets.

Then, like many candidates before him, the Republican mayor went to the Mountain View headquarters of Google to address about 1,000 employees who also recently sat in the cafeteria to hear from someones named Hillary Clinton, John McCain, John Edwards and Bill Richardson. Coincidentally, all four of those speakers are presidential candidates.

According to Bloomberg aides, the mayor was there as part of a speakers series on technology. According to Google officials, the mayor was there as part of a book author speakers series. The billionaire mayor did write a book, "Bloomberg on Bloomberg." But that volume came out in 2001.

The mayor says he can understand any political misunderstanding, but the New Hampshire trip was for his girlfriend's college reunion. Bloomberg has visited 20 U.S. cities in the past 18 months as well as several foreign countries. In 2005, he made no visits to any U.S. city except Albany, the state capital. Last year his trips outside New York jumped to 14 and he's made 12 already in 2007.

Bloomberg said he intends to serve out his mayoral term through 2009. But he refused to rule out a campaign for president and he declined to debunk a report by conservative columnist Robert Novak that he discussed an independent candidacy with former Oklahoma Democratic Sen. David Boren during a recent commencement speech visit to that state.

Asked about a hypothetical independent candidate entering the race, Bloomberg launched into a broad critical examination of the nation's political state without naming names. "I think the country is in trouble," he said. "We've had a go-it-alone mentality in a world where because of communications and transportation, you should be going exactly in the other direction."

Bloomberg aides just happened to have advance copies of a speech the mayor planned to give in Los Angeles this evening. In it, he complains that partisan gridlock in Washington has left "our future in jeopardy."

"It all begins with independence," Bloomberg said independently, calling for "embracing pragmatism over partisanship, ideas over ideology." Tuesday, the New York mayor is scheduled to participate in a panel on government at the University of Southern California with Gov. Schwarzenegger and L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa.

--Andrew Malcolm

Comments

[jay]

GORE and BLOOMBERG 2008 Please!

[Pat Ford]

I love common sense and so far Bloomberg and Edwards have made the most sense. How would that ticket be?

[ongre08]

I wish I "worked" at Google headquarters, I'll bet they get good food at lunch.

Bloomberg may seem like a shot in the dark, but he has lots of his own money and knows business. And is seemingly honest. Those words do not mean I would support or vote for him, but he is better than most other republican candidates. I, of course, hope the GOP nominates the biggest, stupidest jerk they can conjure up.

[Marco Michelli]

Good comments by Michael Bloomberg, except where the heck was he one, two, three or four years ago when all of this was still obviously going on and the path down which we were headed was clear? I RESENT politicians keeping quiet about the issues in this country until around election time OR until the political tide has turned and it becomes "safe" for them to speak openly and honestly. We so desperately need objective and courageous politicians who, for once, have the best interests of this ENTIRE nation at heart. I say dump the whole lot and let's start over, Mr. Bloomberg included.

[toosinbeymen]

Fine. Just remember Bloomberg presided over 1800 people being arrested during the RNC for exercising their right to free speech. What kind of person does that? Whould that kind of person make a good president in the USA or Kazakhstan?

[Jason D]

If he runs as an independent, i wonder, who will this hurt more, Republicans or Democrats? We all know what effect Nader had in 2000. I tend to think it will give Republicans somebody they can live with, diluting their vote and thus helping the Democrats.