Was Thinking Of Bloomberg's Announcement - Could It Be We Have It Backwards?.......

[global1]

Maybe he isn't lying that he switched his party affiliation for a more unaffiliated or independent stance and is not running for the presidency. Could it be that he will be Chuck Hagel's VP choice if/when Hagel throws his hat in the ring.

I was listening to a talking head say that Hagel would be a good VP for Bloomberg - somebody from the middle of the country.

Wouldn't it be just as good for Hagel to have an East Coast running mate - as he is from the middle of the country?

Hagel/Bloomberg versus Bloomberg/Hagel

Just a thought.

[aquart]

1. Not the longest day you live.

[mod mom]

2. There was talk of them meeting for lunch to discuss things. That said

they are pretty far apart on the issues outside of the war.

[StudentsMustUniteNow]

3. Incorrect

Bloomberg and Hagel are both CATO (read: Chinese-bought) candidates. The difference is that one is a foreign policy realist, and the other is a Liebermanist.

[MADem]

14. Bloomberg is the type of guy who just might choose to break paradigms

We all know it's bullshit when a VP suddenly rolls over and sees the light, and completely changes a whole bunch of long-held views, simply because they join a ticket.

Bloomberg just might run a campaign that says "My VP and I don't agree on every issue. So what? The American people WIN by having a variety of views on some subjects heard in the Executive Branch. I'm top dog, though, and what I say goes. If my VP can change my mind on an issue, well, that's fine, too."

Quite frankly, whoever the Democratic nominee is, they'd be wise to do the same type thing, rather than waste time having the VP backtrack over a load of bullshit in uncomfortable fashion.

It's a more authentic approach, anyway.

[damntexdem]

4. New York, New York.

Hows this for 2008: Hillary as a Dem, Guliani as GOP, and Bloomberg as an Independent? Of course, maybe Fred Thompson will knock out Guliani, so the GOP would only have someone who PLAYS a New Yorker. ;-)

Now, I think it will be tragedy if Hillary is the Dem candidate; but imagine an election with three New Yorkers at the tops of the tickets.

[rucky]

12. Where's Jack Bauer from? n/t

[MADem]

5. He is going to run. With Chuck Hagel as his VP. This is Step One.

See here, from last month: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18678886/

....Lack of funding and an organizational base is what prevents third-party efforts. But estimates of Bloomberg's net worth range from $7 billion to $13 billion, and friends say he could easily drop a billion on a presidential campaign without missing it too much.

Based on an hour-long meeting with Bloomberg at Gracie Mansion three weeks ago and a 15-minute telephone conversation a few weeks prior, I'd say that he looks at his record of building and managing his estimated $20 billion company, Bloomberg L.P., and his record as mayor of New York and is intrigued by the thought of running.

Not to mention, he does not seem to be dissuaded by the others already running. ....The intriguing question would be: Who would constitute the vote for a Bloomberg-Hagel ticket? Who would they pull from?

Bloomberg is liberal on basically all of the major social and cultural issues, but loves the business side: managing, solving problems and negotiating deals. Independents, moderate Democrats and secular Republicans would be ripe targets for such an effort. .... Initial polling suggests that Bloomberg could make a respectable run as an independent and pull evenly from the two major parties. But getting from respectable to upwards of 40 percent would require cutting into the marrow of at least one, if not both, parties.

This would mean that his candidacy would likely be contingent upon each party nominating either badly flawed or damaged candidates. After all, with his money, Bloomberg wouldn't need to decide until late February, after the nominations are likely to be determined.

[msongs]

6. bloomburg is not a democrat, is this now independent underground? nt

[MADem]

7. Who's cheerleading for Bloomberg? Jesus, what, we can't DISCUSS this?

Why, because you say so??

I'm frankly SICK about it. He could hand the election to Romney.

But hey, go on and shout down any mention of it, and we can enjoy four more years of GOP rule, quite possibly, as a consequence.

Bloomberg WAS a Democrat for most of his life, FWIW. He became a Republican so he didn't have to wade through a messy NYC mayoral primary. He then bought the job, but was popular enough that he handily won reelection.

Now, he's not a Republican. He's an independent. And he's a threat to a Democrat taking the WH in 08.

The sooner people cop to that, and stop worrying about what is discussed here on DU, the better, frankly.

[onenote]

8. I ran into the same thing -- apparently we should be putting our heads in the sand

I got a similar response when I raised a question about who might Bloomberg pick as a running mate and how that might impact the campaign. I can see how a Bloomberg campaign could harm the Democratic ticket more than it might harm the repub ticket. The question about a Bloomberg/Hagel ticket is whether it would attract enough repub voters who are sick of the war to harm the repub ticket or whether it would mostly draw indie voters who would otherwise go with the Democratic ticket.

Pretending this will go away isnt going to make it go away.

[Stinky The Clown]

10. Amen!

[Totally Committed]

15. I have to agree with you...

What is all this thought-Nazi stuff going on here these days?

Whatever happened to free and open and HONEST conversation about things that matter?

Everybody needs to get a grip, fercripessake.

TC

[arendt]

16. Oh, you mean like impeachment? Nah..that doesn't matter, according to thought-Nazis here n/t

[Sparkly]

9. Why not stay a Republican, then?

Wouldn't Hagel need a Republican on his ticket?

[Stinky The Clown]

11. Same reason he didn't stay a Dem ......

.... getting lost in the pack.

There have also been persistent rumors about 'ol Maverick Chuck bolting the Republics, too.

[MADem]

13. More than rumors--he came right out and said it!!!

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/13/ftn/main2795705.shtml

CBS) The Republican Party has been "hijacked" and led away from its core values, Chuck Hagel, the Republican Senator from Nebraska, said Sunday on Face The Nation.

Hagel, who is still considering his options for the 2008 race, left open the possibility of becoming an independent and sharing a ticket with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

"I am not happy with the Republican Party today," Hagel said. "It's been hijacked by a group of single-minded almost isolationists, insulationists, power-projectors."

Hagel said he will not decide if he is going to run for president until late this summer. He did not say if he would run as a Republican or as an independent. Asked by Bob Schieffer if independent candidates would be good for the political system, Hagel said they would be.