Looks like New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg ditched his independent, bipartisan, clothing for some sexy elephant skin duds.
The New York Times reveals that several weeks ago, the mayor wrote a $500,000 check to help keep the dwindling and increasingly imperiled State Senate Republicans from losing their grip on power.
The Democrats are seeking to gain control of the Senate for the first time in 40 years, and the race is growing personal and bitter.
Bloomberg has made clear to the Republicans that he is willing to personally campaign for GOP senators.
That’s definitely not the rhetoric Bloomberg was touting while he flirted with the idea of running for president. Before he squashed rumors of his candidacy, billionaire Bloomberg promoted his independence, denouncing party politics and dramatically announcing his resignation from the Republican Party.
“The politics of partisanship and the resulting inaction and excuses have paralyzed decision-making, primarily at the federal level, and the big issues of the day are not being addressed, leaving our future in jeopardy,” the mayor said at a the speech in June that set off presidential speculation. “We can accept this, or we can say, ‘Enough is enough!’ and together build a bright future for our country.”
Oh, so he said one thing then did another. I tell people all the time that peanuts are my favorite food. When they buy me a peanut-butter ice cream cake for my birthday I throw it in the trash. In front of them. (I hate peanuts.)
The Draft Bloomberg committee, started by Unity08 co-founders Doug Bailey and Gerald Rafshoon, posted a new Web video warning Bloomberg that he has 10 days to officially put himself in the presidential race as a third-party candidate.
The video features a digital clock running down–as seen on Fox Network show “24,” the ticking of a time bomb and footage of an explosion, presumably a terrorist attack. It urges people to sign the petition at DraftBloomberg.com. It was so dramatic I was one terrorist explosion away from adding my electronic signature to the petition in virtual support of the billionaire mayor.
What’s the rush? “With ballot access laws in several states requiring early action, time is running out,” the committee’s press release stated. “Virtually any effort to qualify for the Texas ballot, for example, must begin the day after the Texas primary on March 4.”
According to Bailey, the decision has to be made in this time frame to get out in front of the Lone Star State primary, which is expected to generate a huge turnout and potentially decide the Democratic contest.
Well no amount of flashy Adobe Premier Elements is going to persuade Bloomberg to make a hasty decision. The NYC mayor may not decide until May whether to run for president, according to associates.
Mayor Michael Bloomberg Thursday put some oomph behind his daily denial of his presidential aspirations. His response to a reporter’s question during an appearance at Google’s New York headquarters in Chelsea signaled an end to the speculation:
“I’ve said repeatedly I’m not a candidate…and I’ll stay that way.”
These new, seemingly definitive, comments come after California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (formerly one of Bloomberg’s biggest allies) announced earlier last week that the Governator plans to endorse Sen. John McCain in the GOP primary Tuesday. That blow, coupled with the permanence of the word “stay,” had followers of this one-man presidential debate thinking Bloomberg finally made up his mind not to run.
But, alas, a new wrinkle was added to the confusion on Friday when Bloomberg called the presidential race “wide open” on his weekly WABC-770 radio show. The comment came after host John Gambling if the primary results would give him “an opportunity to re-evaluate your personal situation.” Of course, the comment could have meant nothing, but with Democrat-turned Republican-turned Independent-turned ellipses-Mayor Bloomberg you have to assume he meant something by it.
Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, says the mayor means to send mixed messages and just “wants to have a little fun.” Oh, you billionaire playboys and your fun. Who doesn’t “toy” with the idea of running a free nation every once and a while?
So, will he or won’t he? The answer is… question mark. It looks like Bloomberg is happy dragging out the drama for as long as possible. The suspense is more palpable than the back-and-forth romance between Ross and Rachel on TV’s ”Friends.” Stay tuned.
Bloomberg called for a major national investment in public works projects during his latest news conference with California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell in South Central Los Angeles on Saturday. The visit is the third time in the past six months that Bloomberg has traveled to California, which “at 55 has the largest number of electoral votes.”
On Friday, the mayor met privately in Austin, Texas, with noted ballot-access expert Clayton Mulford, who ran Ross Perot’s two independent bids for president, after a public appearance with seven-time Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong and former U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona to discuss health care. Texas, which has some of the toughest rules for getting on the ballot as a third-party candidate, is second only to California with 34 electoral votes.
Bloomberg is staying mum so maybe we should consider all his non-preparation mere curiosity about what it takes to get on the ballot in November. Meanwhile, a source close to the mayor told CNN, “Bloomberg will decide by early March whether he will pursue an independent bid for the White House.”
