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This week's New York cover story is about Mayor Bloomberg's presidential possibilities. It's a great look at how far the Mayor has come from the dog days of 2003 when his approval ratings were in the 20-30 point range and how, somehow, many New Yorkers seem to like Mike.
It’s the Tuesday after Labor Day, and Bloomberg and I are having lunch (though his idea of lunch is coffee and a slice of incinerated toast) at a diner in Tribeca. Bloomberg is dressed in a charcoal suit, a pink pin-striped shirt, and a pale-blue tie patterned with tiny yellow snails. He’s telling me a story about what a fabulous time he had the day before at the West Indian–American Day parade in Brooklyn—but the real subject is the affection, nay the devotion, the city has come to feel for him.Sure, he still says he won't run, but with with his resources, he's got people thinking about it for him. And there's a niche for him - writer John Heilemann essentially describes him as a "sane," not "unhinged" Perot! That's a campaign slogan right there: The Sane Perot.“There was not one boo, not one catcall,” Bloomberg merrily proclaims. “Young people, old people: ‘Bloomberg! Bloomberg!’ ‘Mayor! Mayor!’ ‘Great! Thumbs up!’ ” Quite a change, that is, from three years ago, when his reception at outer-borough parades was uniformly brutal: jeers, extended middle fingers, cigarettes flung at him. For a bracing experience, he says, “close firehouses, raise property taxes, put in a smoking ban—then do a parade in Staten Island.” He smiles. “Today in Staten Island, I get 80 percent of the vote and everybody loves me.”
But even though Bloomberg says he wants to finish out four years as mayor and focus his life's work to philanthropy that the rumors of running for president were "helpful": "It gives the mayor a great deal of visibility and a greater ability to influence the debate and get resources for the city."
Of course, there is a wild card factor in the Queens shooting aftermath, but more of the black community do find his openness and empathy, if not all of his actions, refreshing. Rudy Giuliani's poor community relations during his turn as Mayor are one of the many reasons why we think he has less of a chance to run on the Republican ticket in 2008.
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Bloomberg hasn't been trained in civics. Would you trust a brain surgeon who's never been to medical school? The Iraq situation needs someone who at least studied world affairs. Remember when Bloomberg was asked about Iraq last year? The man doesn't even have an opinion about it. How can we expect him to make a solution? Seriously.
Rudy engaged in "poor community relations"? I guess you mean that he failed to kiss up to Al Sharpton. What you consider poor community relations is what most people consider backbone. Rudy has it, Bloomberg doesn't - and that will make Rudy a serious contender and Bloomie an amusing sideshow.
guiliani has excellent community relations,
With STATEN ISLAND and it's off shoots.
Any Real NY'er would know which ones.
Anyway it's all moot, NO WAY in hell would the US elect a northerner to Pres.
And, we don't vote for bald freaks with lisps. You have to have hair to win. How else are you gonna fly them jets, boy?
Blike, none of the current candidates nor our current president and even the one before were trained/educated in foreign affairs/national defense
most Presidents did not have a background in world affairs, if anything they choose a running mate/vice president with experience in it
e.g. Clinton (lawyer) -> Gore (served in senate intelligence commitee)
e.g. Bush (business) -> Cheney (was sec. of defense)
e.g. Reagan (actor) -> Bush (head of CIA)
#4, that's exactly why our standards need to be raised.
If Clinton and Bush knew better, it's possible 9/11 might not have happened.
If Bush knew better, Iraq wouldn't be in shambles.
Haven't we learned our lesson by now?
Zero foreign policy expertise=disaster.
Let's not elect another newbie, all right?
#5, I see your point, however Bloomberg is so inexperienced he would likely choose Dan Doctoroff as his running mate.
Bloomberg's political experience stretches way back to 2001 (when he was first elected mayor). He learned on the job. We can't afford to have a commander-in-chief whose style of political power is to learn on the job.
Electing Bloomberg as President would arguably cause indirect casualties due to the high chance of erroneous decisions he'd make.
Repairing a country isn't the same as running a business.
Bloomberg has even less of a chance than Giuliani of winning the primary.
"Bloomberg has even less of a chance than Giuliani of winning the primary."
Screw the primaries where the only thing that happens is that the demagogues pick the nutcase that suits them - Bloomberg can buy his own. The beauty of guys like Bloomberg is that they can just say f-you to our perverted political system and focus on actually getting stuff done.
That's why Bloomberg doesn't have a chance. He doesn't suit the right-wing agenda. He only panders to the pro big-business contingent which, while obviously powerful in an economic sense, pales in comparison to the rest of the Republican base in a voting sense.
Using a hundred million dollars of excessive advertising to lull the masses into believing that a mayor is "getting stuff done" is a pretty big perversion of democracy, if you ask me. Remember when he skipped the debate? There was an empty podium with his name on it. That's a perversion of democracy. Do some research on the mayor's record on checks and balances, and how he dismisses the Fourth Amendment. I'm surprised this guy calls himself an American and can still look himself in the mirror.