BLOOMIE THE 2ND

In New York, Bloomie's means Bloomingdale's.  Ah yes, having a wife and two daughters, I know it well.  But Bloomie is sometimes shorthand for Mayor Mike Bloomberg, around whom a presidential bloomlet has blossomed.  He denies the ambition, but the blooming continues, and there are too many reports of secret planning to be ignored.

Michael Bloomberg, the successor to Rudolph Guiliani, is in his second four-year term as mayor, is popular, and competent.  He strikes most people as a well-grounded, sound man who makes measured decisions.  His choice of Ray Kelly as police commissioner, probably the second most important post in the city, was inspired.  (Kelly may turn out to be the next mayor.)  Bloomberg, a multi-billionaire (that's a "b") could finance his own presidential campaign, or as an alternative, buy his own country.  The New York Sun, an erudite and somewhat conservative newspaper, is boosting his presidential prospects.  So, apparently, are some independent-minded politicians around the country.  Bloomberg dropped out of the Republican Party to become an independent.

Well, it's a fascinating thought.  He'd probably be the most capable man running, and certainly someone with a solid record.  The problem is that Bloomberg isn't exactly hot on the stump.  There's a story around New York that local hospitals no longer give anesthesia for surgery.  They just put on a CD of a Bloomberg speech, and the job is done.  Bloomberg would, sad to say, give the campaign a new birth of boredom.

So the question is whether he can project his presence well enough to make it as a candidate.  Look, he can practice, he can polish, he can bring in good speechwriters to provide some zip.  If he gets the candidate thing right, his presence as an alternative could be intriguing.  He'd be ready to be president the moment he took the oath, and there's something to be said for that.

Posted on January 7, 2008.