Bloomberg Seeks to "Influence" the Political Conversation

New York CIty Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who may still be considering a bid for the White House, reflected on the outcome of Super Tuesday last week at a press conference, calling the Republican primary a "horse race" while noting that the Democratic nomination was wide open. Bloomberg, an independent, has been under a great deal of pressure to announce his candidacy for president, but when asked recently, he stated that he was "doing an experiment" to see whether he could truly influence national politics without entering the race. Though he claims that his only interest is influencing the national political conversation, his contant criticisms of both parties' candidates suggest that he is more interested in running for president. Should he enter the race, Bloomberg would hold one advantage over the other candidates - money - although Mitt Romney's less than stellar performance after spending nearly 70 million dollars of his own money suggests that wealth will play a less important role. Bloomberg's delay to announce could be quite intentional, for his chances of picking up disenchanted voters increases the longer the parties remain divided over a nominee.