Bloomberg Accepts Innovation Award

Despite multiple announcements that he will not run for president, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg continues to act as if he were on the campaign trail. Last week, Bloomberg was awarded the Fred Arditti Innovation Award by CME Group, a commodity futures exchange. Upon receiving the award for “innovation as the essence of leadership," the mayor infused his audience at Chicago's Peninsula Hotel with a call to action, citing the need for leadership in a globalized, highly competitive world. Bloomberg also had plenty of criticism for government's handling of immigration, global warming, and education, accusing the federal government of stopping innovation and wasting money on earmarks. With language typically reserved for political candidates, Bloomberg called on his audience to "hold our elected officials’ feet to the fire" and denounced the exporting of both industries and "intellectual capital" overseas, claiming that the U.S. is losing out in a more competitive world. The New York mayor even advocated term limits on politcians as a solution. His involvement in national issues is rightly puzzling, given his claims that he will not run for president.

Not a Man of the "Times"

Recently there have been rumors that New York's billionaire mayor Michael Blomberg was going to buy the New York Times. The purchase of this would not only include the newspaper The New York Times but also the other major paper the Boston Globe. Bloomberg bluntly denied this rumor by stating, "“I am not a newspaper person (and) I am not going into the newspaper business.” The reason why the New York Times is being considered for sale is because the cost of shares has significantly decreased. Critics believe that Bloomberg is just what the enterprise needs; a privatized business of Bloomberg. The reason for believing that Times Co. is vulnerable is because many different share holders want to take the corporation in different directions and as a result the stock value has plummeted. For now Bloomberg has clearly stated that he has no intentions of merging Bloomberg LP with the traditional Pegasus.

Fierce Fight for Bloomberg Endorsement

While Michael Bloomberg may not be running for president, his recent announcement that he might endorse another candidate has all three major presidential contenders wooing the New York City Mayor for support. The coveted Bloomberg endorsement would bring both money and media attention to the recipient, a fact well noted by McCain, Clinton, and Obama, all of whom have spoken with Bloomberg over the phone since his announcement. While an endorsement of McCain seemed likely at first, since he endorsed Bloomberg's initial campaign for mayor in 2001, the potential for Bloomberg to throw his weight behind Obama has been steadily growing, as the Illinois Senator was the first to contact Bloomberg, asking the mayor to introduce him at a speech on economic policy in New York. During the speech, Obama praised the mayor's "extraordinary leadership" and lauded him as model for overcoming ideological battles to reach solutions, saying that he shares the mayor's "determination to bring this country together to finally make progress for the American people." While Obama argued for stricter government regulation of financial institutions - a trend opposed by Bloomberg - he went on to praise several of Bloomberg's proposals regarding transportation in Manhattan. While Bloomberg has had less interaction with the other candidates, he already has previous ties to both Clinton and McCain, and thus Obama must work harder to build a relationship with the mayor if he wants the endorsement.