Bloomberg Says No…Again
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in 2008 Election, 3rd Party, BloombergThis time he was asked by… wait for it… Ryan Seacrest of American Idol fame on… wait for it… Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.
Yes, it’s silly, but it means a Bloomberg independent run is starting to get into the national zeitgeist, and if he does want to run stuff like this is important. Seacrest gave him a huge opportunity to get his “pragmatism before partisanship” message out there and I have some thoughts about that after the quote.
From ABC:
Seacrest, who more often finds himself in a tete-a-tete with Simon Cowell rather than the leader of Gotham, began the inquiry by commenting to Bloomberg’s daughters, “I want your dad to answer this honestly. Will you run for president?”Without hesitation, Bloomberg responded, “No, I will not run for president, but I will speak out to try to get people to really focus on the issues and to get rid of partisanship and special interests.”
Does this strike anybody else as possibly, oh I don’t know…staged? Because, honestly, do you really put somebody on the spot like that without giving them a heads up first? It’s not like Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve is known for breaking much news besides what celebrity du jour has decided to get some face time on national television.
And what did Seacrest think? That he’d catch Bloomberg a few flutes of champagne in and he’d bobble, “Yes- I mean no, I’m not running. I’m not. Ryannnn! You dog!…give me a hug!” Unlikely.
The story says that political observers were quick to doubt Bloomberg. Smart call.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 1st, 2008 and is filed under 2008 Election, 3rd Party, Bloomberg. 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.











January 1st, 2008 at 11:52 am
I just don’t see Bloomberg lighting up the electorate by throwing his hat in the ring. Maybe I am missing something. OTOH if he were to fund a serious 3rd party/Unity 08 effort as the VP candidate with Chuck Hagel as the standard bearer, that is an effort I could really get behind that.
January 1st, 2008 at 2:39 pm
I don’t think he will run. To me it doesn’t make any sense to flat out say “NO” to that question and then later do it?
January 1st, 2008 at 2:42 pm
If Bloomberg puts his mind and his money on winning I think he has a superb chance of making it happen. There is power in a man who owes no one - he can afford to have scruples, honor and an unshakable point of view. All are things the American people are yearning for right now.