His American Dream - He's Serious (1 Viewer)

[RightinNYC]

I know I've posted about this before, but New York Magazine just had a Front page, 9 page article discussing this in a language that's far more serious than ever before.

One day last July, Al From received an unexpected call from Michael Steinhardt. From is the founder and CEO of the Democratic Leadership Council, the centrist outfit in Washington that helped propel Bill Clinton into the White House; Steinhardt is the once-hellacious hedge-fund manager turned philanthropist whose name now graces the School of Education at NYU, a former chairman of the DLC, and a friend for decades of Mayor Michael Bloomberg. When From picked up the phone, Steinhardt greeted him thus: “How’d you like to come to New York and have dinner with the next president of the United States?”

Bloomberg listened closely but asked few questions, preferring to hold forth (at great length) about his record as mayor. Regarding his national aspirations, he adopted a posture of self-protective self-deprecation. “What chance does a five-foot-seven billionaire Jew who’s divorced really have of becoming president?” he asked.

A bit about his tenure:

Since January, he has secured funding for the largest school-construction program in the city’s history. He unveiled a plan to build and maintain 165,000 units of affordable housing by 2013 and made headway on vast development projects in all five boroughs. The on-time high-school graduation rate was higher than it’s been in twenty years. The crime and unemployment rates have hit historic lows.

His political maneuvering:

Then came the fall campaign and his move beyond national issues to national electioneering—endorsing and raising money for a micro-slate of Bloombergian candidates. There were moderate Republicans such as California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. There were moderate Democrats such as Missouri Senate challenger Claire McCaskill. And there was Senator Joe Lieberman, the country’s most prominent independent, whom Bloomberg aided by dispatching a squad of seasoned hands to shore up his faltering operation. “No one in public life,” Lieberman says, “has done more for me in this campaign than Mike.”

The kind of rhetoric that I think people are eager for.

Bloomberg is hardly more restrained two weeks later, when he calls me for a chat. “Republicans blame Democrats and Democrats blame Republicans, but just look at both of them,” he harrumphs. “They will do anything, say anything, to avoid talking about the important things and the need to sacrifice.” Bloomberg’s pace quickens as he warms to his motif. “The public wants government to address long-term issues: Who’s going to pay for spiraling health-care costs? Or solve our foreign-oil dependency problem? Or pay for retirement costs or take on the environmental issues? … [Politicians] talk about fiscal responsibility, and yet they’re building up this unconscionable deficit, which means your children and grandchildren are going to have to pay for the services the elected officials are promising to the public today. It’s a disgrace.”

Whether this happens will likely depend on two factors: who the two parties pick as their standard-bearers and the mood of the country. Bush’s longtime media guru, Mark McKinnon, who now advises McCain, contends that “if a year from now there hasn’t been much progress or bipartisanship, and if the primaries do what they often do and squeeze out the moderates, you’ll have an ideal situation for a third-party run.” Sheekey, in fact, has publicly laid out the most likely Bloomberg-friendly scenario: McCain is beaten by someone to his right (Mitt Romney, say) and the Democrats choose someone generally seen as unelectable (guess who?).

Sheekey’s game plan for 2008 begins with the premise that the mayor can afford to wait until early that year to jump. And afford is the proper term, for mounting a tenable independent campaign would likely cost $250 million to $500 million. For most fantasy-league candidates, raising that kind of dough would take years, if not decades. For Bloomberg, it would take, figuratively speaking, a trip to the ATM. (“Half a billion dollars?” he said to someone at a party this year. “Not a problem.”)

Bloomberg, to be fair, has been doing more than preaching; he’s been walking the walk. With donations of $144 million in 2005, he ranked seventh on this year’s Slate 60, just under David Rockefeller. And if he lives up to his word, his rank will almost certainly rise. Bloomberg says that he intends to give away most of his moola after he leaves office. To that end, he recently bought a $45 million building on East 78th Street near his home, out of which he and Patti Harris will run his foundation.

How much cash will they be dispensing? Possibly more than anyone presumes. For now, Bloomberg has squelched rumors that he’s preparing to sell Bloomberg LP—but someday he will, and when he does, his net worth will expand dramatically. A recent piece in the New York Sun estimated that the mayor’s net worth, which Forbes pegs at $5.3 billion, may be over $20 billion (if his company is properly valued). Bloomberg’s aides whisper that the story may be accurate. In any event, the mayor tells me that in the future he expects to be doling out “$300 million, $400 million a year.”

This piece highlights what more and more people in the highest levels are beginning to consider - what happens if 08 looks like 06? What if the Dems are unable to quelch the partisanship? What if the public gets even more disgusted with business as usual?

The presumed "saviors" are already on a path that isn't looking good for that. Clinton, who many thought was not actually planning on running, is almost certain to follow through, sparking a battle in the Democratic party. And McCain, who's enjoyed good rep so far, is moving increasingly to the right in order to stave off Romney and win religious conservatives.

In a situation like this (even worse than 92 when an insane Ross Perot still managed to have a huge impact on the race), its completely fathomable for a 3rd party candidate who's smart and has the $$$ to have a good showing.

There's a lot of reasons people claim he can't win, and a lot of reasons why that's not the case.

For those who are convinced he could never win over the left:

A year before the election, he was a white Republican with 30% approval ratings running against a minority Democrat in a city that is 5:1 Democrat. He had just donated 7 million dollars to the RNC at the height of NYC rage about the Iraq war. He had just completely irritated the police union, the fire union, and the teachers union.

He won by the biggest margin for a Republican since the 50's.

For those who are convince he could never win over the right:

Despite being a divorced billionaire Jew who has come down in favor of strict gun laws and against deporting illegal aliens, he managed to get 80% of the vote on Staten Island, a place nearly as conservative as anything you'll find in the midwest or south.

He's not from either party, hes got a pristine business and governmental track record, he's got some very smart advisors, he's got political favors owed to him from everyone from Schwartzenagger to Lieberman, he's got a balloting structure in place with Unity08, and most importantly, he's got $500,000,000 to spend of his own money, without having to bother with the "being owned by special interests" garbage.

It could very well happen, and I sincerely hope that it does.

 

[RightinNYC]

Just wanted to add this to highlight how he's using his "not running" approach to continue to branch out:

Just yesterday, a man identifying himself as a conservative Christian in New Jersey called in to the mayor’s weekly radio show on WABC and said he would like Mr. Bloomberg to run for president, but to speak more on international issues.

“Foreign policy, I stay a little bit aways from it because my job is to represent all the people of New York City and not really to have my own foreign policy,” Mr. Bloomberg said. He then described his views on Israel, Darfur and the role of the United States in the world, saying he was a bit of a hawk.

:lol:

 

[Navy Seal Patriot]

“What chance does a five-foot-seven billionaire Jew who’s divorced really have of becoming president?” he asked.

I would say he has got a good chance and other Jews (or partly) has served as vp or prez. Woodrow Wilson was really Wohlson -- a German-Jewish Sephardic name. Theodore Roosevelt & Franklin D. Roosevelt. Nelson Rockefeller. Harry S. Truman; Dwight D. Eisenhower, William Jefferson Blythe Clinton.