Bloomberg Talks Like A Candidate
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in 2008 Election
So if he talks like a candidate and walks like a candidate…is he a candidate?
Not yet obviously, but that’s the question the NY Times is essentially asking in a piece about Bloomberg today…
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., June 18 � Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, sounding every inch the presidential candidate he insists he is not, brought his message of pragmatic, nonpartisan leadership to California on Monday, telling a crowd of Google employees that the nation was “really in trouble.�In unusually stark terms, Mr. Bloomberg expressed his frustration with the state of the nation, touching on campaign-style issues like the war in Iraq, immigration, education, health care and crime before a crowd of more than 1,000 employees at the Google campus here.
“Our reputation has been hurt very badly in the last few years,� he continued, criticizing what he called a “go-it-alone mentality� in an increasingly interconnected world.
Yes, yes and yes. Agreed on all points. And this is in stark contrast to what other Republican candidates are saying…well, except perhaps for Ron Paul.
So then, will he, won’t he? I tend to think yes when I hear things like this…
Mr. Bloomberg also took a swipe at the presidential candidates of both parties, saying they were not offering serious ideas about improving public education or lowering street crime.Arguing that people have a much greater chance of being killed by street crime than by a terror attack, he said: “Yet every press conference, they all beat their chests and say, ‘I can protect this country better from terrorism.’ Well, what about protecting them out in the streets every day?�
And yet for all of this tough talk, he’s an empty suit until he can offer up some substantive ideas to solve these issues.
So what do you say Mike? You gonna be an empty suit or you gonna join the game?
This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 19th, 2007 and is filed under 2008 Election. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
June 19th, 2007 at 12:46 pm
[...] Justin Gardner notes that Michael Bloomberg talks like a candidate. [...]
June 19th, 2007 at 6:39 pm
I have thought all along that the whole Unity08 effort has been a stalking horse for a Bloomberg presidential run. Unity08 makes no sense if you take what they say at face value. But if it is really intended to build the infrastructure and lay the groundwork for a Bloomberg campaign … then all the pieces fall into place, including his announcement today that he is leaving the Republican party to be an independent. My thoughts on Unity08 here.
June 19th, 2007 at 6:42 pm
Um … I meant here