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(s)Elections See other (s)Elections Articles Title: Bloomberg 'Campaign' Could Start Tomorrow Sunday January 06, 2008, 7:03 AM STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- He hasn't done a day of formal campaigning and isn't running in any of the presidential primaries. But thanks to his vast wealth, Mayor Michael Bloomberg could easily jump-start an independent White House bid at the drop of a hat and could surprise the world by taking the oath of office come next January. At least that's what his supporters will tell you. Never mind that no independent candidate has ever won the White House, or that America has never elected a Jewish president. Remember how we all raised our eyebrows when Bloomberg ran for mayor in 2001? (Of course, he was a registered Republican then.) The alert level on Bloomberg's potential White House hopes went up a few clicks when it was reported last week that the mayor will attend a bipartisan political forum at the University of Oklahoma beginning tomorrow. In the wake of those reports, Bloomberg has again denied that he is running. But the mayor has raised teasing the media about his real and/or imagined presidential aspirations to an art form. So how will we know if the multi-billionaire Bloomberg is really serious about getting in the ring? Staten Island political insiders told the Advance what they thought the landscape would look like over the next few months if Bloomberg indeed begins ramping up a White House run. It all starts tomorrow, when Bloomberg attends the Oklahoma forum along with independent political types like retiring GOP Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, who is already being mentioned as a potential Bloomberg running mate. The forum -- sponsored by Unity08, a group dedicated to a bipartisan presidential ticket this year -- is expected to result in a raft of proposals being issued on everything from renewable energy to foreign policy to health care. Some will likely view the proposals as Bloomberg's shadow presidential platform. If Bloomberg is indeed eyeing the race, expect him to launch increasing attacks on the current presidential candidates in the coming months for their failure to follow the forum's recommendations. A harbinger of this has already been seen, according to one politico. He pointed out that at a press conference last week on teen smoking, Bloomberg went out of his way to slam the White House hopefuls on both sides for failing to address issues like immigration, free trade and Darfur. Â SUB:THE CLOCK IS TICKING Â The key for Bloomberg will be getting on the presidential ballot in every state, which would require him gathering tens of thousands of petition signatures across the country. That's normally a Herculean task far beyond most mortals, but Bloomberg can simply tap his ample piggy bank to hire people to gather the signatures. Bloomberg's personal wealth has been estimated at upwards of $20 billion. He spent $73.9 million to win City Hall in 2001 and another $84.6 million to keep it four years later, according to the city Campaign Finance Board, both records for a self-financing candidate at any level. It's thought that he could spend between $500 million and $1 billion on an independent White House run.One insider said that there are rumors that Bloomberg would be willing to spend between $50 million and $60 million just to get on the ballot. "That would be more than sufficient," he said. But the clock is ticking. Independent candidates have to file with the various states by March, April or May. "He has to be in the race by then," the insider said. "There's no pussyfooting around. He either has to be in or out." Unity08 and the national Independence Party are already softening the ballot-access ground across the country in anticipation of a Bloomberg run. "You'll see an uptick in their activity in March and April if Bloomberg is serious," said one observer. You can also expect Bloomberg to make liberal use of the "free media" to pitch his policy proposals over the next few months. He'll make more high-profile trips abroad and to key states like Ohio, California and Texas, one borough politico predicted, and you might even see him have a chat with Jay Leno in addition to appearing on CNN, Fox and MSNBC. "He'll do a listening tour of sorts," he said. "That will keep the speculation machine humming, just in case." Among the issues Bloomberg might extol: His own political independence, streamlining the Washington bureaucracy, "green" issues like global warming, and how he helped improve New York's health by banning smoking in public places. Â SUB:WHY RUN NOW? It's thought that Republican Rudolph Giuliani's sputtering presidential campaign is the main factor driving Bloomberg's potential renewed interest in the race. Giuliani finished in last place in Thursday's Iowa caucuses and is not expected to finish in the top three in Tuesday's New Hampshire primary. His first primary victory may not come until Florida votes on Jan. 29.Bloomberg credits the former mayor with helping him get elected mayor in 2001, and has been courteously loath to step on Rudy's toes. But that inhibition would evaporate if Giuliani drops out, even if Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York remains in the race. "It's not like he has any personal loyalty to Hillary for helping him get elected," said one observer. "Should it begin to look like Rudy will not be the GOP nominee, this thing will kick into high gear," said another. That tale likely won't be told until after Feb. 5, when states like New York, California and New Jersey, where Giuliani continues to poll well, hold their primaries. But Hillary's presence in the race would also give Bloomberg competition in the California, Florida and the Northeast states, where he would have to do well to win. In fact, Bloomberg might only have enough firepower in a three-way race to deprive the major party candidates of the 270 electoral votes necessary to win. That would throw the election into the House of Representatives. Or Bloomberg, a liberal at heart, might simply siphon enough votes away from the Democratic candidate to hand the election to a Republican. Regardless, one insider said that whether he's in the race or not, Bloomberg will use his unique platform to drive the national agenda in 2008. "He will continue to work to create an independent, third-party movement in this country," he said.
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#1. To: Brian S (#0)
The pnly Independent campaign I am interested in is one that does not include Americans dying for Israel.
The Truth of 911 Shall Set You Free From The Lie
I'll admit to being completely clueless when it come to knowing what's going on in the "average" American's "mind", but why on Earth would anyone want to vote for this attention whore? Go figure. Well, the same can be said for most of the other candidates. And since another empty suit, Obama, is getting the youth vote I guess I'll have to quit picking on the baby boomers. The sad truth is there haven't been any "greatest generations" in recent history. There have been times, before the Civil War, when the good guys were in charge, but that was long ago and far away. Now the idiocracy reigns supreme, and it's depressing as hell.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------BWS - Bush Worship Syndrome; a mental disorder that causes Iraq had WMDs and Saddam did 9/11 troofers to worship Bush no matter how much damage he does to conservatism, to the GOP, to the English language, or to the country. Rush "the doper" Limbaugh and Sean "the dope" Hannity are two examples of extreme cases.
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