"Bloomberg Stokes Speculation About Presidential Run"

That headline in yesterday's New York Sun caught my eye as I stood in a line at JFK Airport.

How much of this is Michael Bloomberg really stoking speculation about a presidential run? And how much of it is the New York Sun trying to stoke Michael Bloomberg to stoke speculation about a presidential run?

And how exactly would that set with New York City's other 2008 Republican wannabe, Rudy Giuliani? (Not to mention another potential NY Republican presidential candidate, Governor George Pataki?)

Of course, questions about the reactions of Republican presidential hopefuls in relation to a possible Bloomberg candidacy may be all wrong. Bloomberg, as the Sun piece points out, has only been a Republican for five years, a conversion that coincided with his decision to run for mayor after a lifetime as a Democrat and a career as a billionaire mogol.

His recent rhetoric and activity suggest that he might just be interested in running for President as an independent.

"We've got to have a political leadership, at every level of government, capable of hearing both sides, accepting what is true in what they say, and acting on it," Mr. Bloomberg told an audience of several hundred people yesterday at a conference hosted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Mr. Bloomberg has been denying that he wants to run for president, but at an appearance in Connecticut during the weekend, he said that anyone planning to run would deny it. The mayor visited Washington five times in 12 weeks earlier this year, and he's recently been spotted cultivating national newspaper reporters.

Yesterday, he spoke out on a variety of national issues, from gun control to federal aid formulas.

"The federal responses to avian flu, to the shortage of flu vaccine, or to other crises we've faced in recent years, have been episodic and disjointed," Mr. Bloomberg said. "They illustrate the lack of the kind of national public health infrastructure, at the federal, state, and local levels, that our era demands.

"Neither political party is blameless," Mr. Bloomberg said, offering AIDS policy as an example. "Talk to one set of advocates, and they insist that the answer to stopping the spread of HIV is distributing more condoms and setting up more needle exchange programs. The other side believes just as passionately that the solution to preventing the spread of HIV lies in persuading people that they can't just have sex with whomever they want, whenever they feel like it.

"The truth is, both sides are right - and we've got to have a political leadership, at every level of government, capable of hearing both sides, accepting what is true in what they say, and acting on it," the mayor said.

Bloomberg stands little chance of winning the GOP nomination--he's as out of the mainstream of Republican thinking as Giuliani without being a 9/11 hero, the latter attribute being the only thing putting his name in play among Republicans. But the New York mayor would look like a waffler or a mere political opportunist if he switched back to the Democratic Party at this point. So, if he really is interested in running for President, a run as an independent probably makes the most sense for him.

There are already some folks trying to tap into the electorate's oft-expressed disgust with both parties. But it's still doubtful that an independent could be elected in 2008.

Michael Bloomberg no doubt has the confidence and the money for an independent run at the White House. But whether he could be elected is a huge question. Another question is this: Does he even think he'd like to run? If the Sun article is a trial balloon, its likely failure to float will render those two questions moot in short order.

Science fiction writer Ray Bradbury once told Walt Disney that he should run for mayor of Los Angeles. Disney was incredulous. "Ray," he said, "why should I be mayor when I'm already king?"

Bloomberg is already appreciated in New York and has one of the most important jobs around. With that, why, I think he'll ultimately wonder, would he want to be President?

[Thanks to Andrew Jackson of SmartChristian.com for linking to this post.]

[Thanks also to Article6Blog for linking to this piece.]