Oh boy, Breaking: Bloomberg exploring Presidential Run

[Superman Returns]

Just heard it on my local NY news. I think the Clinton win and wide open GOP race has prompted this.

[MadBadger]

1. As do I

[Bitwit1234]

51. He'll take the republicans votes. Democrats don't like him

he jumped ship once. New Yorkers won't vote for him over Hillary. He's got the money, so let him waste it.

[MadBadger]

61. He has very high approval ratings in New York City

So dont think that dems dont like him neccessarily.

[2rth2pwr]

65. he doesn't line up on the issues as a repug, he will take Dem votes.

* Reproductive choice is a fundamental human right. (May 2006)
Balanced $6B deficit with higher property taxes. (Oct 2005)
Backs same-sex marriage. (Mar 2007)
Banned trans fats in NYC restaurants. (Apr 2007)
Smoking ban was a crusade of his mayoral administration. (Oct 2005)
Border controls fight natural forces of supply and demand. (May 2007)

http://www.ontheissues.org/Mike_Bloomberg.htm

[Renew Deal]

2. If Hillary is the nominee, he's in.

We all know that.

[Fredda Weinberg]

6. He made up his mind long ago. Sorry, can't reveal my source n/t

[Renew Deal]

11. Bullshit

[Fredda Weinberg]

19. The appropriate expression is that I have "high friends in low places"

But I keep a confidence.

[sniffa]

35. you shouldn't be so modest

:patriot:

[TwilightZone]

As long as "high" doesn't mean...you know..."high"

Then, we might have to question their credentials.

Or maybe that would confirm them.

[Clarkansas]

16. Yes. Hillary nomination = Bloomberg and maybe Nader. Obama nomination = neither.

Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory again.

[davidwparker]

42. 100% Right - 0% Wrong

[polichick]

3. Good grief - that guy needs to get a hobby! nt

[iamahaingttta]

64. This IS his hobby!

Like so many other rich people.

[Joe the Revelator]

4. Even more reason to vote for Obama

He's the only dem candidate who could pull the independents needed to weather this.

[Occam Bandage]

5. If Clinton wins the nomination, he's in. If Obama does, he's out.

[Renew Deal]

14. And he'll suck up all indies. Especially against Huckabee

or Romney

[Occam Bandage]

17. Meaning Hel-lo President Huckabee.

[BootinUp]

20. Your source? nt

[Occam Bandage]

23. This is an opinion board.

[BootinUp]

25. lol

ok.

[Occam Bandage]

31. He and Obama share a large support pool. With Obama as the nominee,

he's practically irrelevant; Obama has the "outsider/change" storyline, can push a post-partisan message, has great social-liberal / fiscal-responsibility independent appeal, and has a support base of young, affluent donators. That's Obama's core message, story, and support--and that's Bloomberg's core message, story, and support. With Obama in, Bloomie's an also-ran.

With Clinton vs. Romney, say, on the other hand, the door is wide open. Clinton is the candidate of the Democratic establishment, inspires partisan rancor, and isn't well-liked by independents or Republicans. Any Republican will be seen, to an extent, as Bush's heir. Bloomberg can walk in and establish himself.

[BootinUp]

52. Heres where I see a problem with your analysis

Based on primary results where there is a choice between a few Democrats, you are attempting to analyze his strength in a GE against a different (quite different) candidate.

[no name no slogan]

68. And opinions are just like assholes

Everybody has one, and they all smell bad

[Occam Bandage]

69. Careful with that, it's an antique.

[no name no slogan]

72. POST OF THE DAY

:spray:

You owe me a new keyboard

[BootinUp]

73. yeah, I admit it

I laughed too.

[Renew Deal]

27. This was in the NYT's last week

Look around.

[Occam Bandage]

32. Really? Link? I like having my opinions validated :P

[Occam Bandage]

36. nm, found it downthread

[BringBigDogBack]

33. That's correct.

[saracat]

7. Good.

[THUNDER HANDS]

8. I've been saying that he would only run if Hillary was the Dem nominee

if Obama is the nominee, he'd sit out.

[Missy M]

9. Who cares

:shrug:

[H2O Man]

28. It could have

an impact on the outcome of the general election. In theory, I am in favor of more than the two parties. If we do things right, we can make coalitions with other parties. However, there can also be times when a 3rd party candidate reduces our chances of victory. A good example that comes to mind is John Anderson in 1980.

Why would Bloomberg run, but only if Senator Clinton is the democratic nominee? I can think of three possibilities: (1) Because he thinks he can run and win; (2) He thinks he can help Senator Clinton by taking republican/independent votes; or (3) He thinks he will help the republican by taking democratic/independent votes. I think those are things worthy of our consideration.

[Missy M]

46. Right now he's just looking into it.....

I'm pretty sure he could never win and I think his findings will tell him that.

[H2O Man]

48. That may not

be his only goal.

[Missy M]

54. Seems like an awful lot of money.....

(I know he has plenty) just to get someone else to win.

[H2O Man]

57. ABC buttons .....

John Anderson ran in 1980. He handed out "ABC" buttons .... "Anybody But Carter." It was a lot of money to make sure Reagan won.

[cal04]

10. NY Mayor Bloomberg weighs 2008 run

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has begun detailed polling and highly sophisticated voter analysis in all 50 states as he considers an independent bid for president, associates said Wednesday.

The exhaustive data collection quietly started months ago, and when the analysis begins shortly, it will provide the data-obsessed billionaire businessman with the information he will use to decide whether to launch a third-party run for the White House.

The scope of the research, details of which were revealed to The Associated Press, demonstrates how seriously Bloomberg is considering running for president, despite his almost-daily denials that he isn't entering the race. The extensive coast-to-coast research effort shows that Bloomberg is willing to dig deep into his wallet simply to gauge his chances of winning and lining up the proper support network along the way.

"They want a hard-headed sense of their chances," said Doug Schoen, who spearheaded Bloomberg's voter database efforts, known as microtargeting, for his two mayoral campaigns.

Bloomberg's spokesman Stu Loeser declined to comment.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080109/ap_po/bloomberg2008

[H2O Man]

12. I had posted

a OP about Marist College calling me as part of a poll last week. They did not ask about if John Edwards or Barack Obama were to win the democratic nomination -- only Hillary Clinton.

[Imagevision]

13. Oh, you didn't hear? Bloomberg is waiting for after the primaries then he's in as the independant

that you can take to the bank but... don't tell anyone.

[MannyGoldstein]

15. He's A Smart Guy WHo Gets Things Done.

And he's sane.

[Fredda Weinberg]

21. At the two city agencies where I worked, it was biz as usual and that's

not a good thing.

[MannyGoldstein]

44. Can You Share With Us The Agencies And The Problems?

I understand if you cannot.

[Fredda Weinberg]

63. I'll send you a PM n/t

[BootinUp]

18. Bloomberg is a threat

to any democratic nominee.

[Superman Returns]

22. true

but he wouldn't run if it was Obama. I really don't.

[BeyondGeography]

24. He only runs if your girl is the nominee

[BootinUp]

26. Link?

[BeyondGeography]

29. Obama’s Surge Deflates Forum and Talk of a Bloomberg Run

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/08/us/politics/08bloomberg.html?ref=us

Think?

[BootinUp]

53. What Bloomberg objects to

is the primary voters pressure on the candidates which causes candidates to swing more to the outside to win the primary. Now that Obama is back under pressure, expect him to do exactly that.

[BeyondGeography]

58. Wrong...he'll keep pushing unity and beat Hilly over the head with it

It's the same theme that the unions touched on in their endorsements today. He wins independent and Republican votes, she doesn't.

Everyone understands this.

[BootinUp]

59. "Everyone understands this"

Good luck with that meme.

[BeyondGeography]

60. Except Jim

I forgot that part.

[BootinUp]

62. lol nt

[jackson_dem]

39. Bloomberg and Obama have the same theme

[Occam Bandage]

41. Right, which is why Bloomie can't run if Obama does. There's no opening.

[jackson_dem]

49. The opening is experience. "Obama with experience. Vote Bloomberg."

[Occam Bandage]

67. Historically, "I'm just like that guy but a bit different/better" doesn't work at all.

As Mr. Edwards is demonstrating.

[jackson_dem]

70. It gives voters a choice and don't underestimate what $1 billion can do

The people who are looking for "post-partisanship" would have a choice between Obama and Bloomberg. Couple that with $1 billion and Bloomberg can seriously wound Obama. Bloomberg would also be able to appeal to some disaffected Republicans, do well among independents, and even take some Democratic votes away. Bloomberg is a threat to any candidate but Obama is the most vulnerable since they are so similar. Edwards' Two Americans message is less susceptible to losing votes to Bloomberg.

[Occam Bandage]

71. Bloomberg could certainly wound Obama, but with Obama in the race, Bloomberg

could not possibly win for that exact reason--they would be drawing from the same support pool. Therefore, if Obama's the nominee, Bloomberg does not run.

[jackson_dem]

74. If Obama is the nominee I hope your argument is right

[Occam Bandage]

78. If Clinton is the nominee I hope yours is.

[BootinUp]

55. The primary is not over. Expect Obama to appeal

in a stronger way to the primary Democratic voters in the very near future.

[Meldread]

30. Jeebus. He's totally in if Hillary gets the nomination. It'll be a replay of 2000.

He knows the Republican field is weak and that Hillary is a polarizing candidate. Obama is stealing his message.

If Hillary wins the nomination, and loses the General Election I am going to be the first person here on these forums with a "I TOLD YOU SO!" sign.

[RummyTheDummy]

80. I'll vote for Bloomy if Hillary is the nominee

And I'll join you on the "I told you so" tour.

[jackson_dem]

34. Bloomberg would severely damage Obama

They both run on the same "post-partisan" nonsense. Let's nominate someone like Edwards or Hillary who can take the fight to Bloomberg.

[Occam Bandage]

40. Bloomberg wouldn't run against Obama. He'd damage Clinton or Edwards badly.

[davidwparker]

37. The only chance for Virginia to give its electoral votes to the Dems is for

Obama or Edwards to be the nominee. If it is Hillary, it will go elsewhere. Whether Bloomberg runs or not doesn't matter unless Hillary is the nominee.

Our best shot is Edwards and Obama in some order.

[Meldread]

76. I'm from VA too, and agree 100%!

Although I support Obama over Edwards, I agree 100%! I can't imagine a scenario where a Clinton could take Virginia, but with Obama or Edwards it's definitely a possibility. Obama has proven he can attract independents, and I think that coupled with Warner campaigning for him would send him over the edge. If Edwards wins or Obama wins we might actually get to decide an election! Virginia won't just be an after thought anymore.

[goldcanyonaz]

38. Great, the more the merrier.

[TwilightGardener]

43. I've been saying this for months, that he would get in if Hillary was

our nominee. Clearly, after yesterday, he's going to press ahead.

[Imagevision]

45. Think about it, Huko or McCain, they have no candidate, Bloomberg is a viable choice

[Occam Bandage]

47. Think about it, Clinton? They have no candidate, Bloomberg is a viable choice.

Clinton has the same downside any Republican does--high negatives, and low appeal outside the party.

[Superman Returns]

50. it depends

Republicans who dislike McCain for not being conservative aren't going to go with pro gay-marriage, pro-strict gun control, and pro-choice Bloomberg.

[TwilightGardener]

56. If conservatism was that important, McCain, Huck and Rudy wouldn't

be the top turds on the shitpile.

[ClericJohnPreston]

66. He'll do it!

Have no fear, Mayor Mike's run will soon be here.

Why?

For the same reason he is mayor of New York. E-G-O

It isn't philanthropic, it isn't noble, it isn't empowering to citizens. But, it is empowering to a BILLIONAIRE , who can secure his gravy boat while in office. He could own Wall Street by controlling it. You and I can only guess what one man's monetary obsession, could wreak on the average Joe.

I live in New York City and I can assure you, once he opens that whining, nasally delivery of his, he is going to turn off a lot of voters. But, with lots of $$$ to spare and a good running mate ( Hagel? ), who knows what damage he may cause and to which Party. It aches just thinking about it.

As if things weren't tough enough already, we now have Billionaires using politics as their personal playground and folly.

[BenDavid]

75. Well, that will be interesting. Obama the nominee, he loses,

HRC the nominee we win even with Bloomberg in the race.....but the latest out of New York is the folks of the city say YES to him being mayor but NO to running for President....

[MasonJar]

77. I certainly hope that he does not take democratic votes and, thereby

allow another scum PUG get in the WH. The Pugs need to go the way of the Whigs...disappear!!!!!!!!

[Fredda Weinberg]

79. He wouldn't even get NYC. We'd rather have him in our state capitol

Where inertia is always welcome.

[Skidmore]

81. We need another -illionaire with politics as a hobby in this nation

like we need a hole in the head.