[Politics] Hizzoner for Prez?

I want to conduct a poll. This week New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg announced that he has left the Republican party and has registered himself as an independent in a move that many see as a precursor to a bid for the presidency. I would like to find out if people outside of New York a. know who Bloomberg is, and b. would consider voting for a successful business man turned New York City mayor. My sense of things right now is that, despite all the media speculation, Bloomberg does not have the recognition or support outside of his city to make a true bid for the presidency.

One thing he does have is money. So, believe me when I say if he only needed recognition, he could get it in a matter of weeks. But he is going to have to more than get recognized; he needs to convince Americans that a third party candidate can get as much accomplished, if not more, than his GOP and Democrat counterparts. One thing that the fawning pundits do have correct is that if there is a time in history more ripe for a challenge to the two-party system, it is now, and if there is one qualified man to bridge that gap it is Michael Bloomberg. Nevertheless, those two facts do not make the hill any easier to climb. This week's issue of Newsweek has some good coverage on the issue.

Personally, I see a few good things that could come out of a Bloomberg run. For one thing, Bloomberg has, in his tenure at City Hall, has proven himself a consistent moderate willing to work beyond party allegiances. In that sense, his ideas and initiatives serve only to address the city's problems and not to fire up his base or pander to special interests or the media. He is a self made billionaire which means two good things for his political career: 1. he is not beholden to campaign donors on policy, and 2. he has already proven his ability to run a successful office.

What I like about the possibility of a Bloomberg campaign is that he could, and would, address issues in a way that the other candidates will not. He thinks big, but not without the businessman's acumen for real world ability. And he is certainly not afraid to push seemingly unpopular ideas when he thinks it is the right thing to do. In fact Americans are very mch craving the type of independently-minded politics he exemplifies.

George Will, in his Newsweek column from the most recent issue, suggests that Bloomberg's chances at a presidential bid are practically non-existent for lack of three things that have, in the past, given third party candidates some semblance of success: a vivid personality, a regional base and a burning issue. I concede that Bloomberg is lacking these qualities. However, a vivid personality, if the past is any idication, to me, simply means that the candidate is essentially a caricature: not a quality you want in a president even if in a campaign it gives you recognition. And seemingly Bloomberg's regional base is small, but with billions of dollars in hand, that base could grow rather quickly.

Finally, yes, Bloomberg does not have that burning issue to make a name for himself, but, as far as I can tell, the country will not allow the debate to be hijacked by a single issue in 2008. It is actually the Democrats that are doing a good job of making sure that this election is about several important issues. So for Bloomberg, a single burning issue to address would only make him look like a weak candidate. Will asks "He is said to represent 'post partisanship,' but if so - if he is not a partisan of any large cause - why is he needed?" This question, as far as I can tell, simply asks why Bloomberg is not willing to sacrifice himself for a single (controversial) cause. And in asking that question, Will shows his ignorance as to what a "post-partisan" third-party candidate is; it is someone that is everything past third-party contenders were not: He is not a novelty; he is not sexy, invigorating or nostalgic. He is like the partisan contenders, except that he is not beholden to the rhetoric of party lines. He shows an ability to tacklebig ideas through undramatic solutions and bipartisan consensus. In other words, he is boring; compromise always is, but after eight years of partisan bickering, America is looking for a boring compromise.

(As an end note, everyone should read Jonathan Alter's Newsweek column on why Bloomberg would make an ideal VP. For all the problems of him as president, I only see great things with him as second in command.)