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.

Bloomberg is Off The Air

Every week since 2002 Bloomberg had been goiing on the air live on the station WABC. The mayor would discuss an array of topics, including his taste of food as well as personal life. The program, "Live From City hall" aired every nearle every friday from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM. Recently, however, Bloomberg has not been on partly because the host of the show was fired. John Gambling was let go last week because the station's company cut down on the budget. The new host is curtis Silwa and he says he will approach the show with the nation as a whole in mind. Unfortunately Bloomberg has refused to go on the air with this new host, but would like to continue doing his radio appeareances. The 6 year run is done for now but he will surely find another station that will have him on.

Bloomberg is Out!

As of last week, Bloomberg has announced that he will not enter the 2008 presidential race, but with so much influence and media attention building up over the past few months, it'll be exciting to see if Bloomberg will endorse a current candidate and if so, who. There has been a bit of speculation that Bloomberg might run on the Democratic party ticket, alongside Barack (if the Senator wins the nomination). I say speculation loosely, considering it derives from a comment made by the Deputy Mayor on NY1 (a new York broadcast network, who suggested that Bloomberg run with Obama. It may not be substantial at the moment, but if the idea of a Bloomberg ticket snowballs into the media it might stir up some voter interests. Regardless, who Bloomberg endorses will play a pivotal role in that candidate's campaign. The Independents backing Bloomberg, as well as the support he's gained from his undercover campaign could quite possibly swing a popular vote towards the political left or right and thus have a huge impact on the General Election.

Isn't Running?

Although Bloomberg has constantly claimed that he will not be a presidential candidate he certainly is acting like one. Last Thursday Bloomberg spoke at the World Bank on several issues the nation faces. A key issue that Bloomberg hit on Thursday was the immigration issue. He noted that both McCain and Huckabee have been the two candidates who are in favor of immigration, as well as the current president, "The ones who have stood out interestingly enough are three Republicans: McCain, Huckabee, and President Bush have all been much pro-immigration than the other candidates." This gives the impression that Bloomberg is pro immigration, however, if he were to run would he be taking votes from the republicans or the democrats? This is a vital question that both the democrats and republicans are concern with since it could be a determining factor. Bloomberg remarked that McCain is a candidate, that unlike others, is in favor of illegal immigrants obtaining their citizenship. It must also be noted that recently McCain has had a change of heart and is talking more about border security rather than citizenship for immigrants. This is due to McCain's will to win over the Conservative vote. It is clear that Bloomberg is in favor of immigration. Bloomberg also discussed other issues he feels haven't been addressed enough by the government. Among them was the issue of the environment and global warming. He feels like candidates should focus more on the issues and less on the people's thoughts, "Candidates are doing polls to find out where they stand, rather than doing polls to find out where the public stands." I know, I know, it really seems as if he is in the race because he is doing so many speeches and presentations, but, he is yet to announce. Will he?

Deadline Approaching

As another President's Day comes and goes, it seems that yet another New Yorker may be shut out of the presidential race. First it was Rudy Giuliani, then Senator Clinton's prospects began to weak, and now Mayor Bloomberg's chances at a presidential bid may soon disappear. There is still time for Bloomberg to enter the race - March 5th will be the date to watch, as it is the earliest opportunity for potential independents to petition to be on the ballot; Texas is the first state in the process. Though he again stated that he is not interested in running for president, Bloomberg displayed his continuing "concern" for national issues by speaking out against the tax rebates which will be part of the economic stimulus package that was passed by congress and signed by the president last week. Nevertheless, the potential for Obama and McCain to pick up independent voters is so strong that Bloomberg might be spurned even if he did enter the race. The longer Bloomberg waits, the dimmer his prospects become.

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.

McCain Makes Bloomberg Weary

McCain's unexpected victories have befuddled many. No one really expected McCain to become the leader of the Republican party. McCain's triumph in several states, including Florida, makes Mayor Bloomberg consider even more in depth if he should run as a third party. It is problematic for Bloomberg that McCain is in the lead because most of the people that would support Bloomberg are now supporting McCain. Bloomberg and McCain have very similar political ideologies, for this reason the people that McCain is attracting currently are the type of people that would support Bloomberg, these are Moderate Democrats. Another complication that has come about as the result of McCain's rise to the top is that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger recently endorsed McCain. Governor Schwarzenegger gave his support to McCain on Thursday. The reason that Bloomberg and McCain are very much a like is that both have some democratic views and some republican views. Before McCain became the front runner Bloomberg had a purpose to run as an independent. Bloomberg would offer the fresh non-partisan take on things, and would combine both democratic as well as republican ideologies. Bloomberg will for now be looking into the future, particularly to March 5th because this is when the independent candidates may begin collecting signatures in Texas.

Sneaky, Sneaky (The undercover campaign)

Although Bloomberg hasn’t formally announced his candidacy, that doesn’t mean that he isn’t campaigning. Rumors speculate that he has his eyes on March, waiting to see the clear set of primary winners and then formally announce his candidacy. Just this past week he attended a news conference concerning the National Economy in California with California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Pennsylvania governor Ed Rendell. At the conference Bloomberg stated, "We cannot hand our children a nation that is crumbling from neglect," – mighty words from a non-presidential election candidate. Bloomberg continues to travel across the country, making statements regarding national concerns in order to further his ‘independent’ mission to ‘re-build’ America. Furthermore, Texas, California, and Pennsylvania are all rich with electoral votes and Bloomberg just happens to have made ties to all three. Like a ninja, Bloomberg is running his campaign under the radar. The only difference between his campaign and all the other candidate’s is that the latter have publicly stated their presidential ambitions and openly campaigned for popular votes, whereas Bloomberg is building ties and biding his time. Keep an eye out for Bloomberg; he’s a sneaky one.

http://www.wnyc.org/news/articles/92244
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5izinQos18ZF8h0q5LJjf0VpGmj5wD8U9B1G00
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/ny-nymike205545272jan20,0,5797169.story

Bloomberg Still Weighing His Chances

With the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary completed and still no front runner in either party, pressure is mounting for New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg to announce his candidacy. While Bloomberg maintains his positon that he will not run, time is running out. Many expect the campaigning to turn bitterly partisan - thus leaving Bloomberg less and less time to offer up his opinions without recieving a volley of criticism. A potential Bloomberg bid for the presidency depends on being able to run in the center of the political spectrum, but both Iowa and New Hampshire leave doubts as to whether a moderate campaign is possible. A Hillary Clinton or Mike Huckabee nomination would leave more room for Bloomberg to play the center field, but if Senators Obama and McCain win their respective nominations, voters would be less receptive to another moderate candidate. Bloomberg may be waiting to see the direction of the economy; if the U.S. lands in a recession, he be able to portray himself as a successful money manager and businessman, where he has the most experience. Despite polling that indicates support for Bloomberg from both Republicans and Democrats, many still fear that a Bloomberg candidacy could split the Democratic party in a fiasco reminiscent of Ralph Nader's run for president in 2000.

Obama's win makes Bloomberg reluctant

On January 8th, just days after the Iowa Caucuses, Bloomberg along with Democratic and Republican leaders participated in a forum aimed at influencing the campaign as well as discussing the the dense disunion in America. The event, held at the University of Oklahoma, was attended by student, faculty, and people who were not familiar with Michael Bloomberg and an independent candidate. Clearly the main focus was on Mayor Bloomberg, but his sole presence did not suffice for most attention at the time was on Iowas Caucus winner, Obama. Obama's win in Iowa poses brings about weariness on Bloomberg because Obama is a Democrat who is interested in bipartisanship and unifying the America, as noted on his speech after winning the Caucus, "You came together as Democrats, Republicans and independents, to stand up and say that we are one nation ... You said the time has come to move beyond the bitterness and pettiness and anger that's consumed Washington." This is significant because most people that would vote for Bloomberg want a unified America. Previously, Obama had not offered this but now, post the win in Iowa, Obama states his aim is to have a unified America, and not a partisan America. His speech targets independent voters, which is exactly the people Bloomberg is going after. If he does decide to run Bloomberg will have to gather signatures in Texas to be on the ballot on March 5th.