What Will Bloomberg Spend?
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in 2008 Election, General Politics, Money
Political Insider speculates that it could be $1 billion. Personally, I think it’s highly unlikely he’ll spend that much, but half of that? Quite possibly. After all, he spent $50 million on his initial mayoral race.
The tough part for Bloomberg is that his appeal is not about what he would do; it is about how he would do it. His impressive record as New York mayor is due to his cooperative management style and inclusive approach. This will certainly sell well with voters sick of partisan bickering, but can it sustain Bloomberg as he is pressed on social issues, the war in Iraq, and other touchy matters? He may be closer to John Anderson than to Perot, appealing primarily to the upper class and intellectual elites.But all of that is still to come. The more pressing question is: How does Bloomberg run? The Unity08 group’s leaders are not too subtle about saying they would love to have him, and now that Bloomberg is no longer a Republican, he could take the Unity08 nomination for president with nominal Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel as his running mate. Or Bloomberg could opt for a Democratic running mate and focus on big-media “blue” states. After all, Bloomberg will need 270 electoral votes to win. With his record and appeal, he is more likely to get there by winning pluralities in states like California and New York than by making an unlikely sweep of the GOP Heartland.
However, given the discontent in the GOP among fiscal conservatives with Bush, Bloomberg may well capture those Republicans who are more Libertarian at heart. And how about the moderate Dems out there who have grown tired of the party line? They could very interesting in a third choice who’s smart with money and hands off with privacy…well except for trans fat and smoking.
As I’ve said before, 2008 is probably the best climate for a 3rd party candidacy we’ve ever seen. Bloomberg knows this all too well, and he’s been counting on it for 2 years now…about the amount of time this blog has been in existence (we launched in earnest on July 13, 2005).
So what of it Bloomberg? You gonna run or not?
This entry was posted on Sunday, July 1st, 2007 and is filed under 2008 Election, General Politics, Money. 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.
July 1st, 2007 at 1:12 pm
2008 indeed has the potential for a successful independent or third-party candidacy. And Michael Bloomberg (and his money) will play a pivotal role in it. But rather than Chuck Hagel as Bloomberg’s vice presidential running mate, I would see things the other way around.
While Bloomberg projects the image of managerial competence, he does appeal “primarily to upper class and intellectual elites.” As a multibillionaire Wall Street businessman, Bloomberg would have some difficulty connecting with Main Street voters.
Hagel, by contrast, is a bonafide bootstrapper whose personal story all Americans can identify with. He’s a wealthy man today due to visionary business decisions. But his upbringing was as hardscrabble as it gets. The family followed Hagel’s father around Nebraska, at one point living in the furnace room of a facility where the elder Hagel was maintenance man.
As a decorated combat veteran in Vietnam, Hagel is uniquely qualified among all the declared and undeclared presidential candidates to make critical foreign policies decisions. Hagel has made himself clear on the Iraq war, where Bloomberg has avoided stating his position on the most important issue facing American voters in 2008.
Both men are being assiduously courted by Unity08 and could well end up on a ticket together. It will remain for the Unity08 voting delegates to decide who among all the competing candidates will get the first and second spots on a Unity08 ticket.
July 3rd, 2007 at 11:19 pm
This Libertarian wouldn’t touch Bloomberg with a 10 foot pole. He’s a statist through and through.
July 7th, 2007 at 10:52 am
07:07:07 07/07/07 Presidential Candidate Stack Ranking
Similarly, Bloomberg may be blazing another trail via Unity ‘08, that could open that path for a Hagel independent run. I see both as (perhaps unwitting) stalking horses for the man who would make the best President - Chuck Hagel.