June 13, 2006
Mayor Bloomberg's Coy About the White House
Did Mayor Bloomberg brind the Country Music Awards to NYC to get some of the heartland vote? Earlier this week, the Norwalk, CT paper "The Hour" asked our Mayor about his presidential aspirations, if any. Mayor Bilng said, "Absolutely not... And anybody who's running will say exactly that." Plus, he made it clear he could pay for a presidential run. Well, duh - he could probably pay for a couple presidential runs, but we thought he was going to become a full-time philanthropist!
Mayor Bloomberg was in Chicago over the weekend to give the convocation address at the University of Chicago - was that a veiled Midwestern swing? Like his speech at Johns Hopkins, he criticized the current state of politics and asked graduates to be independent thinkers. Tere's an excerpt:
...travel outside the “friendly confines” of this campus and you’ll find objectivity, common sense – and independence – lacking. And let’s be clear: both ends of the political spectrum share the blame. And both seem unwilling to change.And he opened with, "It’s great to be here in Chicago – “Oprah-land, USA,” home of “duh Bears,” and my favorite band, the Blues Brothers! Where is John Belushi now that we need him?" Anyway, if Mayor Bloomberg were elected, he's probably refuse to live in the White House and end up buying a swank townhouse nearby.That job is left to others. In fact, that job is left… to you.
Yes. Your mission – if you choose to accept it, Class of ’06 – whatever career path you may take – is to fight that fight, to maintain a healthy skepticism and an honest integrity and to never let go of the American spirit of independence.
In a world that will bombard you with analysts, pundits, self-styled “experts” – and relentless advertisers – you must stand tall because when it comes to protecting speech, thought, and expression, you are the next generation of freedom fighters.
And heaven knows – your country needs you now, more than ever.
Would you vote for Mayor Bloomberg if he ran for President? Would it matter if he ran as a Republican or Democrat?
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Bloomberg has zero foreign policy skills. Ask him what he thinks about the Iraq situation. The man can't even come up with an opinion, let alone any strategy on what to do about it. Still, he'll likely be better than Bush, but is this what we're gonna settle for, someone who's simply "not Bush"? How about someone who actually knows about civics and government? Am I nuts or what?
>Posted by: nuts
Yes, you are in fact nuts!
:)
He's way too liberal in some areas for my tastes, so no.
"Not Bush" is exactly what the Democrats tried in 2002, 2004, and are doing again this year. Even that openly gay candidate for Manhattan Borough President last year tried the "not Bush" approach for a local election. Lot of good it did him.
The only prayer the Democrats have in the 2008 election is that enough Californians flee to Idaho, Nevada, Arizona etc. to tip those states. Then Florida and Ohio won't even matter.
Hell yeah! I'd vote for him for in a New York minute. The man may not have all the skills, but he is is a quick learner and is smart enough to surround himself with a staff that is genuinely competent - not just a gaggle of cronies. If he could do for America what he did for New York, I think the world would honestly be better off.
"If he could do for America what he did for New York, I think the world would honestly be better off."
So this would mean all Americans would have to leave the country because it's unaffordable?
*zero foreign policy skills*
nuts: have you been living in a cave the last few years? he has more foreign policy skills than bush did have before the first election and ever will have durring and after his current presidency. bloomberg would surround himself with a great advisors and cabinet members. he is a little lib, but that wouldn't matter to me. also, his presidential campaign would be 100% his own money and no outside investors... meaning? he would owe nothing to the big corporations and bullshit... needless to say, he would be 100% corrupt free.
New York's been unaffordable long before MB came to town.
I am a big Bloomberg fan, but I would only vote for him as an independent (or a Democrat, but that seems unlikely).
Like LaGuardia said, there's no Republican or Democratic way to pick up the garbage. But there is a Republican way to run the country, and entrenching that party in the White House for another eight years would be bad news, no matter who the President is.
Sadly, because we're in (literally) WWIII, the next few presidents will be republicans.
mrf,
I think you are oversimplifying that all Republicans think alike. Perhaps that is the Democrats greatest problem when it comes to elections. There is simply no evidence that Bloomberg would run the executive branch in the same manner as Bush. I doubt he would come to the same conclusions regarding wire tapping.
Based on your logic, Bill Clinton should have been expected to behave just like Jimmy Carter.
edEx, I think you've been living in a cave, because Bloomberg has never gone on record with any comprehensive opinion or solutions to any foreign policy issues (and yes, he was asked by the press about it on many occasions). He basically implied "Hey, it's not a local issue, so I'm not going to bother thinking about it." Others were quick to point out that foreign policy is a local issue, as it affects New Yorkers' lives in a gruesomely literal way. Yes, he can hire experts on foreign policy to make decisions, but that means that Bloomberg himself does not have an inkling of how those guys came up with their decisions. If I did my job that way, I'd get fired.
But yes, he's definitely better than Bush. But we still deserve a new president who at least KNOWS HIS STUFF. That's all I'm asking for.
But wait, wanting a president who actually knows how to do his job is considered nuts!
I think you are making quite a leap in that conclusion. That sounds more like PR spin than anything else. Why go on the record years before the election cycle even begins and you still have a reelection campaign to think about? Do you really believe he doesn't have opinions on global policy?
As I said, I'm a big Bloomberg fan, so obviously I don't think he's anything like Bush. But the Republican party is busted right now in ways that go beyond Bush (so are the Democrats, but that's another issue). Could Bloomberg clean up the Republican party as he fixes the country? Maybe...
I guess a more interesting question is...could Bloomberg possibly get the Republican nomination?
what is so liberal about bloomberg? hes still a billionaire ...
Could Bloomberg get the nomination? Probably not. He'd probably do ok in the Western states where the Republicans are more about small government and there is an influx of Califonian refugees. I think he'd get clocked in the South where the family values, religion card plays well. Some opportunistic candidate could do to Bloomberg what Bush did to McCain.
As for what he would do as President, I could see him taking a cue from Clinton and trying the triangulation strategy. That the current Republican leadership inthe White House and Congress is broken doesn't necessarily mean a future Presidential candidate is made from the same mold. In fact it would be easier to fix the party with a new Republican President than trying to oust several hundred Congressmen. Besides, Republicans will likely not hold the House this fall anyway.
The fact the New Yorkers have voted for "Republican" mayoral candidates four straight times should be a wake up call to Democrats that the far left candidates have less appeal, even here. I put Republican in quotes because we all know Bloomberg is well to the left of the current national party but still to the right of the past Democratic candidates for mayor.
what is so liberal about bloomberg? hes still a billionaire ...
I hope you are joking...the guy is a lifelong democrat tree hugger. He only switched parties so that he could run, since he couldn't score the Democratic nomination. And there are plenty of rich libs, just look at Hollywood for proof.
hah! look at you people focusing on real issues. Bloomie would never get nominated simply for the fact that he is a divorced jewish male. wouldn't stand a chance in the flyover states.
lee of course is one of those really brilliant and highly educated liberals that has absolutely no understanding of the world outside of New York.
To "how do you know":
In the vast depths of the internet, find me data showing me that Bloomberg had a coherent opinion on the Iraq war and how it affects New Yorkers. If you find it, I will gladly put my foot in my mouth. But I'm not worried, as you will never find it, since it does not exist.
I personally don't believe in things that don't exist. Why do you?