Bloomberg won’t run for president

[brooklynite]

Source: AP

Mayor Michael Bloomberg writes in a New York Times editorial that he's not running for president. He says in an op-ed piece he has listened carefully to those who encouraged him to run but he is not and will not be a candidate for president.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23379960/

[Skinner]

1. Good news.

:thumbsup:

[cal04]

2. I’m Not Running for President, but ...

By MICHAEL R. BLOOMBERG
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/28/opinion/28mike.html?hp

WATCHING the 2008 presidential campaign, you sometimes get the feeling that the candidates — smart, all of them — must know better. They must know we can’t fix our economy and create jobs by isolating America from global trade. They must know that we can’t fix our immigration problems with border security alone. They must know that we can’t fix our schools without holding teachers, principals and parents accountable for results. They must know that fighting global warming is not a costless challenge. And they must know that we can’t keep illegal guns out of the hands of criminals unless we crack down on the black market for them.

The vast majority of Americans know that all of this is true, but — politics being what it is — the candidates seem afraid to level with them.

Over the past year, I have been working to raise issues that are important to New Yorkers and all Americans — and to speak plainly about common sense solutions. Some of these solutions have traditionally been seen as Republican, while others have been seen as Democratic. As a businessman, I never believed that either party had all the answers and, as mayor, I have seen just how true that is.

(snip)
These forces that prevent meaningful progress are powerful, and they exist in both parties. I believe that the candidate who recognizes that the party is over — and begins enlisting all of us to clean up the mess — will be the winner this November, and will lead our country to a great and boundless future.

[CatholicEdHead]

3. He is probably waiting for 2012

[Smarmie Doofus]

6. He's 66 y.o. right now. That was the point all along. It was now...

... or never.

[onehandle]

4. No shit. He's working on important stuff. Like knocking over counterfeit Prada bag dealers.

Whoopie Fucking Do!



City Agents Shut Down 32 Vendors of Fake Items

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg called the operation one of his administration’s “biggest takedowns ever” against the “easy and sleazy” money derived from counterfeit merchandise.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/27/nyregion/27chinatown.html

[DainBramaged]

12. I guess you aren't from anywhere near NYC?

And he has been a FAR better mayor than This guy (?) ever was.

[Smarmie Doofus]

19. Hmm... I am. Do you use New York City public schools ?

Do you own or rent in NYC?

I'd say it's a wash. G. ( overlooking his personal excesses) having accomplished - or at least ridden the crime downturn ( national and demographic in scope).

B. having accomplished the further diminution of middle class housing in NYC... which was impossibly scarce when he came in... and the now the *complete* disolution of the public school system, to create a truly two - tiered socioeconomic social system for the first time in a century (in NYC, at least.): fabulousy expensive private schools for the upper and upper-middle class and wildly dysfunctional public schools for those who remain.

Who remains? Immigrants and the poorest of the poor, naturally.

[DainBramaged]

22. I disagree with your observations

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/17/nyregion/17bloomberg.html

Spending on schools jumped 14 percent, to $16 billion, driven by a 40 percent increase in teacher salaries favored by Mr. Bloomberg, among other expenses.

And although the number of city workers has declined by about 1 percent since Mr. Bloomberg took office, he has been increasing the staff of late, adding nearly 10,000 workers since 2004, bringing the total up to 367,643.

When Mr. Bloomberg took office, he inherited a budget punch-drunk from the aftereffects of 9/11 on an already slowing economy, facing a $5 billion deficit in what was then, in 2002 dollars, a $41 billion budget, including $14 billion from Albany and Washington. The mayor spent his first months in office looking for ways to reduce spending through cutting staff and modestly trimming services, but he increased revenue through borrowing and eventually raising taxes, fines and fees.

“He very deliberately, early on, made the choice that rather than really jamming down services, he was going to hold the service level and raise taxes,” said Mark Page, director of the Office of Management and Budget. Mr. Bloomberg has also personally contributed tens of millions of dollars to the city, forgoing his salary, paying his own travel expenses, donating to social service and cultural groups whose city grants he trimmed, and supporting projects and experimental programs......


Only the poorest of poor remain in NYC????? Immigrants????? :wtf:

[Smarmie Doofus]

30. In the *public school system*.

>>>Only the poorest of poor remain in NYC????? Immigrants?????>>>

Take a look sometime.

[onehandle]

21. I'm sure saving the profit margin of luxury items makers is a very important thing.

And nobody wants the "little people" to have a knockoff of a $20,000 handbag for $35.

Especially Muffy and Mitzi.

Won't Somebody think of the Rich?

[speedoo]

27. The profits were going to organized crime.

At least that's what Bloomberg or his people said. It's easy for me to believe, since organized crime is everywhere here, and it's probably more prevalent among asians and russians than the more notorious italian mafia.

Anyway, the implication of your criticism is that's all Bloomberg is doing, which is far from the truth. He's been a terrific mayor, IMO.

[TwilightGardener]

5. I guessed right--I knew he wouldn't run if McCain and Obama were the

nominees. I do hope he plans to endorse Obama and support him. I like Bloomberg.

[Ameridem]

7. What he didn't say

if he would take a V.P. slot on Obama's ticket. Think about it.

[TwilightGardener]

8. Actually, he's too controversial to be a VP. Had several sexual harrassment suits

which he either settled or are still ongoing, and he's pissed off a lot of Charleton Heston types for his aggressive illegal-gun stings. He's one of those people who could have pulled off his own Prez run, but as VP, he might be harmful--plus, he doesn't have the foreign policy/national security experience Obama may need in a VP.

[Ameridem]

9. Things about Bloomberg

I didn't know. So who do you think is on Obama's V.P. short list.

[TwilightGardener]

10. Honestly, I don't know--I think he will pick someone who thinks

and operates the way he does, though--He's not going to let the party pick someone for him.

[DainBramaged]

13. Where do you get this stuff???

Illegal gun stings? Sexual harassment suit(s), several I might add???

THAT case was in the year

2000

, The harassment suit was filed in 1997 by former Bloomberg LP sales executive Sekiko Sakai Garrison. Bloomberg adamantly denied the allegations and settled the case in 2000 for an undisclosed amount without admitting any wrongdoing.

It looks to me like Nebraska doesn't like Mike. Come to NYC once. That will give you the experience necessary to comment further. :sarcasm:

And, he's traveled overseas more times than Obama has, and he even went to Iraq.


Like I said, where do you get this stuff??

[Smarmie Doofus]

20. An "*undisclosed *amount" ??

Why do you supposed he preferred to have the amount "undisclosed"?

[TwilightGardener]

24. Easy now. I like him. But he still has a suit ongoing against Bloomberg LLC for

sexual harrassment, where he was recently denying that he has a hand in day-to-day business--the company refuses to settle, IIRC. And no, he doesn't have foreign policy experience (speeches in various countries don't count), which is why he was being tutored by a former Clinton FP advisor, and also why he was interested in Hagel as VP. And the group Mayors Against Illegal Guns has been pissing off the ATF with their interstate gun-sale stings. That's a fact, I'm not making it up. The first rule of VP is "do no harm"--I don't think he would be helpful to Obama, and if Obama takes public financing (likely), he won't even need Bloomberg's money.

[DainBramaged]

26. first rule of VP is "do no harm"

Did anyone talk to Cheney lately???

[beevul]

28. Illegal gun stings...

Virginia AG To Bloomberg: Stop Covert Gun Buys

NEW YORK (CBS/AP) ― Virginia Attorney General Bob McDonnell has warned New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg about a new law that would prevent the mayor from sending undercover private investigators to buy guns in Virginia.

The Republican mayor has sued 27 out-of-state gun dealers in an attempt to reduce the flow of illegal guns into New York. Between 80 percent and 90 percent of the firearms used to commit crimes in the city are initially purchased out of state, according to police.

City officials say the dealers have supplied hundreds of weapons used in New York City crimes. The lawsuits, which name dealers in Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Virginia, ask the courts to require monitoring of the shops' sales. Twelve have settled.

"While I understand that you are attempting to take steps that you believe may enhance the public safety of the citizens of New York City, such laws are Virginia's duty to enforce," McDonnell wrote in a letter to Bloomberg last month apprising him of the law that goes into effect July 1.

Wearing hidden cameras, investigators tried to make "straw purchases," in which one person fills out the legal forms and buys a gun for someone else. The practice is prohibited by federal law and is typically used by those, such as convicted felons, who cannot legally own firearms.


http://wcbstv.com/topstories/Illegal.Guns.Ray.2.244302.html

I'd say thats quite a bit more current than 2000.

But Bloomie even though hes a republican, is a gun hater, so its understandable that some folks hereabouts might be quick to defend him.

[bluestateguy]

11. Good

This is America. This is a two party nation.

[speedoo]

14. Bloomberg Says He Won’t Run but Will Be Active

Source: NYT

Bringing an end to a long flirtation with a bid for the White House, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has officially closed the door on a presidential candidacy this year.

In an Op-Ed article published in Thursday’s New York Times, Mr. Bloomberg wrote that he still believed that a nonpartisan approach is needed to solve the country’s problems and that an independent candidate can win. But he will not run, he said.

“I listened carefully to those who encouraged me to run, but I am not — and will not be — a candidate for president,” Mr. Bloomberg said. “I have watched this campaign unfold, and I am hopeful that the current campaigns can rise to the challenge by offering truly independent leadership. The most productive role that I can serve is to push them forward, by using the means at my disposal to promote a real and honest debate.”

In a switch, the mayor said that if one of the candidates offered a practical approach and challenged party orthodoxy, he would work to help elect that person.


Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/28/nyregion/28bloomberg.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin

---

Sounds like Mayor Mike could end up endorsing either McCain or Obama/Clinton if one candidate has plans that align with Bloomberg's thinking. But I have a hard time seeing him endorse McCain since McCain's Iraq War love-fest means more deficits and Bloomberg is very opposed to growing the deficit.

[babylonsister]

15. Sounds like Obama all the way to me. Our umbrella is huge! nt

[jlake]

16. LOL. It is getting so big that it is scary.... pretty soon Rush Limbaugh will join in.

[woolldog]

17. Umbrella wouldn't be big enough for him.

seeing as how fat he is. :rofl:

[comtec]

18. Actually flu$h has lost alot of weight

But his EGO... omfg I don't think the earth is big enuf for that overinflated, fat sack of bullshit!

[Mudoria]

23. Very disappointed he's chosen not to run. He would have

provided a great alternative ..

[djg21]

25. Bet he'll run aga Spitzer for NYS Governor.

Spitzer has squandered his mandate and is very vulnerable. Andrew Cuomo, the current A.G. (i.e., Aspiring Governor) undoubtedly will primary Spitzer if Spitzer continues on current course. Bloomberg could take either of them on an win soundly if he runs as an independent in the General Election.

[beevul]

29. Good. N/T