And you thought Hillary was polarizing
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg's flirtation with a presidential bid has had a dreamy-eyed media playing effeuiller la marguerite. He'll run! He won't. He'll run! He won't. Will he?
But that daisy may have already wilted under the California sun. According to the Field Poll, one quarter of the state's registered voters said they'd consider voting for Bloomberg — but two thirds said they'd definitely not.
Why so disenchanted, and so soon? It may be that Bloomberg inadvertently fell into the Thompson trap, by not entering early enough to capture the public's imagination. And left-leaning Californians (including the ever-growing population of decline-to-staters) might feel their choices among the Dems are more than ample, thanks all the same.
Unfortunately for a Bloomberg bid, politics this season has been fun. At Monday's Democratic debate in South Carolina, the audience gasped, laughed or cheered at nearly every jibe the candidates threw at one another. No matter how they felt about each contender, they weren't going to let favoritism get in the way of having a good time.
If Bloomberg was ever planning to run, he was probably looking to walk into a race that needed a little shaking up. But starting with Iowa and New Hampshire, the ground has shifted so often that it's hard to believe the mayor could ever get solid footing on his own.
Those who know Michael Bloomberg, do not associate the word indecisive with him. Why is he hesitating? In my opinion, it is because there is a fact he needs that is not yet determined. He does not know who the Democratic nominee is. If it is Obama, his sense of the historical context would keep him from running. If it is Hillary Clinton, he is going to run.
If Barack is the nominee, I see him reaching out toward the independents for a VP nominee. I would not be surprised to see one named Bloomberg.
Posted by: Dave | January 29, 2008 at 08:11 AM
lets give hate a rest. Obama appeals to those who still believe in the American dream.
Obama has the experience to bring republicans, democratics, and independents together, even Bloomberg.
If Obama is nominated, you won't see people leaving the party, you will see more people joining the party.
Look at the record turn outs in all of the states that have voted already.
We need to stop fighting change, I realize change is hard, the status quo is a no brainer. But we need to leave the past and embrace the future.
Obama is our future.
Posted by: Rhonda | January 28, 2008 at 03:27 PM
You're suggesting that Bloomberg made a misake in waiting to see who the nominees for both parties would be, and if he had an opening. Now, with this marathon primary season, it's impossible for Bloomberg to get in and start garnering the attention he would need to make a competitive run. But I feel Bloomberg is threatening an anti-partison backlash if the political rhetoric gets too heated. Usually, the democrats and republicans start attacking each other right after the nomination is sown up in New Hampshire. But now we'll all have to wait till the conventions is late August to find out how partisan the rhetoric is, and Bloomberg won't have any influence on that outcome.
Posted by: Ali-Asad Somjee | January 28, 2008 at 07:53 AM
Mayor Bloomberg is managerially talented, no doubt, but the presidency requires talents that go beyond mere competence as a governmental manager. So there is something lacking in Mayor Bloomberg with respect to such high office. Hillary and Bill Clinton are experienced and politically skillful, but as we have all learned, some kinds of experience and skill are better called "baggage". Much as I respect those two great politicians, they are missing something.
Like it or not, every era of American history is branded by who holds the office of the President. I am becoming quite enthused about what might unfold in America under President Barrack Obama. In this election year, Mr. Obama is proving himself to be a leader who has the rare ability to bring people to the polling places. Turnouts in the caucuses and primaries are breaking all records. Does this not tell us that Mr. Obama has something the others are missing? Might that something be called "leadership"? I'm beginning to think so. I'm beginning to think America has drawn a lucky card as it has only a few other times.
An engaged populace can reach new heights and invent itself anew. Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, Roosevelt, Roosevelt, Kennedy, Reagan. I don't see either Mr. Bloomberg or Mr. and Mrs. Clinton as landing among the suite of Presidents with the power of leadership to define eras of American change. But the more I watch this election play out, the more I'm convinced that Mr. Obama is a rare man with precisely that rarefied leadership potential.
Posted by: felipe mendez | January 28, 2008 at 12:37 AM
It’s obvious after the South Carolina primary that Chicago politician Barack Obama has the lock on the African-American vote. They now have a national leader that they are comfortable with.That’s as it should be. Every group needs to coalesce around a core leadership to represent its interests at the table. That way you know whom to negotiate with.
This brings to mind the ascendancy of the Parti Quebecois in Canada of the 1970’s, when French Quebeckers split off from the Liberal Party and formed into a national bloc. Canada benefited from the leadership of Prime Minister Pierre Eliot Trudeau, who, being half-French and half-English himself, managed to balance national interests and keep Quebec as part of the Canadian confederation.
The more-or-less even dispersal of African Americans throughout the U.S. precludes any move for black separatism, but this writer believes that Obama will serve as the instrument that irredeemably fractures the fragile Democratic coalition the same as one blow of a chisel can shatter a carefully sculpted marble statue. It’s obvious that black political aspirations cannot be contained within the current structure of the Democratic Party.
The big winner of the South Carolina primary is New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose presidential ambitions have been resuscitated by hopes that enough disenchanted Democrats will flee into his waiting arms. This calculation may be realized if Obama’s strength continues to snowball going into Super Tuesday.
While a Bloomberg third party candidacy may siphon off considerable support from the Democrats, it will probably not have any effect upon Republican voters, who have got to be figuratively dancing in the streets. They can probably be counted upon to maintain unity around a McCain candidacy.
The latest news now is that in a suicidal paroxysm in total conformity with past Democratic behavior, Sen. Edward Kennedy has thrown his support behind Obama. A few weeks ago the Democrats seemed to have a sure winner against a fragmented Republican field.But like a Super Bowl game, the dynamics have shifted in midfield to the other team. The Republicans have a new dynamism with McCain, while the Democrats are fighting among themselves.
The damage has been done. Regardless of the results of Super Tuesday, the Democrats will never be able to put themselves back together again. If Clinton wins, the black vote will never support her in the general election. If Obama manages to attain the nomination, enough Democrats will flee, either to the Republicans or to Bloomberg, to ensure a Republican victory.
The country seems to be entering a new phase of smaller parties that will form coalitions around issues of mutual interest and will only work together as long as those interests are served, similar to Europe or – Africa.
Posted by: 200motels | January 27, 2008 at 08:16 PM
"politics this season has been fun"
Seriously, what planet are you on. Politics this season has not been fun, it has been polluted by the trail of trash left by the trashmeisters. Obama strikes me as a decent, intelligent man. For the first time in many years I have been inspired and excited by a politician. And I am an older white female who has waited a long time for a candidate who would make me proud to be a Democrat. But let me tell you, The Clintons make me ashamed to be a Democrat. For them politics is a blood sport. And for some people blood sports are fun. One thing I am sure about, if Mrs Clinton is the nominee, and if Bloomberg runs I will vote for Bloomberg.
Posted by: rubicon2 | January 27, 2008 at 07:52 PM
URGENT!!!!!!! A MUST READ FOR VOTERS!!!!!
"A GOP's Ace in the Hole?"-----
Posted by: John Browowski | January 27, 2008 at 04:23 PM
When former president Bill becomes a surrogate as an attacking dog for his wife, it really turns people off; recalling that Clinton era of lying, lying, and keep lying just for the expedience of their political benefit. Come on people, wake up.
Posted by: james | January 26, 2008 at 10:40 AM