Bloomberg Effect

A new CNN poll finds that Mayor Bloomberg could have a great impact in 2008:

...Bloomberg polled around Perot's 19% in three-way matchups -- 17% against Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Rudy Giuliani, 21% against Democrat Barack Obama and Republican John McCain.

That's a pretty good piece of the electorate, if you consider that Bloomberg has little name recognition and is just now developing a national profile.

Bloomberg: GOP and Dem Conventions are Boring

Mayor Bloomberg continues his attacks on the two political parties:

At a breakfast forum in Manhattan, Bloomberg fielded a range of questions, including some about his political views and whether he is ideologically more in line with the Democratic party. Before his recent switch from Republican to independent, Bloomberg was a Democrat for much of his life. He left that party a few years ago to avoid a crowded primary for his first mayoral run.

"I don't think that I disagree with what any national party stands for because I don't think that either national party stands for anything," he said.

Mayor Bloomberg is not alone, as many voters continue to leave the two mainstream parties and declare themselves unaffiliated. With approval ratings for Congress and the President going further and further down the drain, and Washington not accomplishing anything of significance, why should we continue to support the status-quo. Bloomberg went on to say that "[the GOP and dems] nominating conventions are a snooze."

While Washington does nothing, Bloomberg is tackling tough issues like taking illegal guns off the streets and education. Bloomberg is a doer, and America needs its leaders to start getting things done.

Bloomberg Dominates Sunday Morning Talk

Mayor Bloomberg's campaign for America dominated the Sunday morning political talk shows. While supporters of the current political establishment and status-quo talked down a Bloomberg or third party candidacy, others expressed a different opinion. On ABC's This Week, Newsweek's Fareed Zakaria had this to say about the mood of the country:

There is a deep sense that Washington is broken and that small minority special interests groups can derail legislation…Bloomberg is probably the most competent elected official in America right now. He does have a very commonsensical view on many of these issues…

While over on Meet the Press, Washington Post columnist, David Broder, expressed this view:

There is such a distaste out there among the people for both these parties…[It’s] wide open.

When asked if a third party candidate could win the presidency, Broder simply responded, "Absolutely."

A new Newsweek poll backs up Broder's thinking on this issue:

A new NEWSWEEK Poll, conducted Wednesday and Thursday nights, suggests a majority of registered voters agree with Bloomberg: 57 percent say the two-party system does not do a good job addressing issues important to Americans, according to the poll. The same percentage of registered voters say the country needs a third political party. That's up from 46 percent in 2003—and virtually identical to the 58 percent who said they favored a third party back in 1996, the year Ross Perot mounted his second independent run for the presidency.

What a great way to start a new week!

NY Times Endorses Independent Move

In an editorial published this morning, the New York Times came out with a glowing review of Bloomberg's recent decision to become an Independent:

And Mr. Bloomberg’s announcement that he is getting out of the G.O.P. but not getting into the race, certainly brought some fresh air into the longest and already most airless presidential campaign in memory. For a couple of days, at least, he changed the subject from who has raised the most money and focused attention on some of the nonwedge but really important issues that he and a few other mayors and governors have been trying to push to the front of the national agenda.

The candidates for both major parties ought to heed Mr. Bloomberg’s comments about how Americans want nonpartisan solutions to nonpartisan problems. Mr. Bloomberg, like his former fellow Republican, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, certainly has done well for himself and his constituents by defying partisan agendas on issues like global warming.

We were glad to hear Mr. Bloomberg say the presidential candidates should be talking about how to move forward in Iraq, which applies to those who take cover behind President Bush’s policies as well as those who believe, as we do, that the focus should be on ending the war. Mr. Bloomberg was right when he said Americans care “about who’s going to pay their Social Security; they care about who’s going to pay their medical care; they care about immigration, about our reputation overseas.” And, unlike politicians in both parties, he talked about America’s out-of-control gun problem.

The Times also reports that Bloomberg has been preparing for a possible presidential run for two years:

The announcement by Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York that he was leaving the Republican Party to become an independent was made after nearly two years in which his aides had laid the groundwork for a potential independent run for
president.

They collected technical data on the requirements to put Mr. Bloombergon the ballot in 50 states either as a third party or an independent candidate. Mr. Bloomberg went to Washington for a round of meetings with opinion leaders and traveled the country giving political speeches, including two this week in California.

And Mr. Bloomberg told associates that he was closely studying the 1992 presidential campaign of H. Ross Perot, the wealthy Texan and friend who drew 19 percent of the vote as an independent, to figure out how much a race in 2008 would cost.

Bloomberg is still getting a lot of big media national press, and it has been two days since he made his initial announcement.

Bloomberg's Media Lovefest!

Well, there is no doubt about it, Bloomberg has had a great day in the press. He certainly did not waste the moment either, as he continued to make the points Americans know all to well:

"The big issues of the time keep getting pushed to the back," Bloomberg said at another moment...

Bloomberg at Google

The conversation that started the recent 2008 chatter:

Hillary Supporter, Koch, Could Support Bloomberg

Former New York City Mayor, Ed Koch, is an ardent Hillary Clinton supporter, but he is not ruling out supporting Mayor Bloomberg in the general election:

Koch, who delivers commentaries on Bloomberg Radio, told the Forward that he is standing firm in his support for Clinton in the Democratic primaries. He would not, however, close the door on backing a Bloomberg candidacy.

“My support for Hillary is in the Democratic primary,” Koch said. “If Bloomberg were to come in, I would consider it at that time as to which of the two I’ll be supporting. I don’t have to make any determination now, because he is not yet a candidate.”

Jumping ship to campaign Bloomberg has already begun...

Unity 08 Issues Words of Support

The co-founders of Unity 08, a bipartisan political movement attracting Americans deeply concerned with the polarization of our political system, issued words of support yesterday regarding Mayor Bloomberg's decision to change his party affiliation:

"The announcement today by Michael Bloomberg reinforces what Unity08 has been saying since our inception, that the current political system is broken and does not address the concerns of the majority of the population. Although we had no prior knowledge of Mayor Bloomberg’s intentions and we have no idea what it may or may not mean to Unity08, it is obvious that he too understands the need for common ground."Doug Bailey, Co-Founder, Unity08

"Michael Bloomberg has always seemed like a perfect independent candidate, and a competent one at that."Jerry Rafshoon, Co-Founder, Unity08

Mayor Bloomberg has also been getting a lot of great press. He essentially got ten minutes of coverage at the start of the Today Show this morning.

This Sums Up The Washington Reality Today

WASHINGTON NEEDS BLOOMBERG!

Mayor Bloomberg Comes Out Swinging

What a great day to start this site! First of all, Mayor Bloomberg has taken the first step towards launching an Independent run at the White House in 2008 and has left the Republican Party:

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg made a bombshell announcement today in a press release issued while he was in Los Angeles: He's leaving the Republican Party and becoming an independent.

Mayor Bloomberg also dropped some other bombshells about what he thinks while in California. In a speech at Google he proclaimed:

“Whoever out of those 20 becomes president I think has to do something about a country that I think is really in trouble,” Mr. Bloomberg said, referring to the current crop of candidates. “There’s the war, there is our relationships around the world.”

“Our reputation has been hurt very badly in the last few years,” he continued, criticizing what he called a “go-it-alone mentality” in an increasingly interconnected world.

The words Mike Bloomberg speaks make sense, are right and...best of all...he is beholden to no special interests!

As President, the American people will be Mayor Bloomberg's special interest.