for the current incarnation of the Republican Party, it is all over. The only remaining suspense is to see what Alien-like creature of hell will erupt through the GOP chest cavity as it convulses in its final death throes.

Looks like my previous post applies less to Ron Paul and more to Michael Bloomberg. From GazetteXtra: NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Bloomberg may soon begin a massive operation to get on the ballot in up to 15 states even though the billionaire mayor may not decide until May whether to run for president, according [...]

What about both of them? Rasmussen has the numbers… Twenty-six percent (26%) of American voters believe New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is at least somewhat likely to make a third-party or independent bid for the White House in 2008. That includes 5% who say he is Very Likely to do so. Twenty-nine percent (29%) [...]

You been to Draft Bloomberg yet? It’s a very slick site with the sole purpose of getting you to embed a widget that gathers signatures to urge Bloomberg to run. Right now they have just a little over 2,000. What’s more, former Unity08 co-founders, Gerald Rashfoon and Doug Bailey are behind it. Now, it’s no [...]

The Edwards campaign latest justification for remaining in the race is that John Edwards is the ONLY electable Democratic candidate (as opposed to a similar but very different argument that Edwards is more electable than the other candidates). The campaign started making this argument after Iowa and has expanded on it ever since. Recently, Edwards [...]

Discuss…

It seems obvious now, that from the beginning Unity08 was indeed a Mike Bloomberg stalking horse, funded and staffed by Bloomberg loyalists. They couldn’t pull off the Bloomberg run within the Unity08 structure, so they suddenly close up shop to make room for the imminent Bloomberg Independent candidacy, redirecting management and money resources to the impending campaign.

I think I’ve figured it out. Simply put he’s waiting to see who the nominees are. By that I mean that his candidacy wouldn’t have the same traction in an Obama vs McCain race as it would in a Clinton vs Romney or Giuliani race. x-posted

Well, that’s the rumor at least… From NY Daily News: A source familiar with the Bloomberg for president movement says the bipartisan Unity08 effort is poised to shut down its Web site, reconstitute as a Draft Bloomberg site and launch its own 50-state signature-gathering operation on behalf of the supposedly reluctant would-be independent presidential candidate. [...]

One word: Obama. From NY Times: He arrived here for what seemed like it could be a big moment. Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, eyeing a third-party presidential bid, joined Republican and Democratic elders at a forum to denounce the extreme partisanship of Washington and plot how to influence the campaign. But even as the mayor [...]

Because if all he’s saying is the following, that’s the reason Obama is pulling ahead in the first place. From AP: Amid talk about Washington riven by partisanship, Bloomberg gathered with Democrats and Republicans — some current elected officials, others out of office for years — to discuss bridging the divide between the parties. The [...]

From NPR: Some big names in politics — Republicans, Democrats and Independents — are getting together to talk about the possible need for a third-party candidate in the presidential election this year. Former Sen. Sam Nunn and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg are among the people attending the conference. Another is former Sen. David [...]

This 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. [...]

The Dems don’t seem to be too hot on the likelihood of Bloomberg running this year. Especially NY Times economist Paul Krugman… Seriously, why does anyone think this makes sense? I read a lot of polls, and they suggest that the center of public opinion on the issues is, if anything, left of the center [...]

Why? Because that’s when Texas opens up for 3rd party candidates to get on the ballot. So it makes sense that we should know by then if somebody is going to mount a viable 3rd party bid…those “somebodys” being Michael Bloomberg and/or Ron Paul. I found the date in the NY Times: Bloomberg aides have [...]

First, why Ron Paul’s loss? Because if he doesn’t go 3rd party, somebody will. A perfect storm for a 3rd party candidate is on the radar and all signs point to it turning into a category 5. Especially if the nominees are Giuliani (or Romney) and Clinton. So how could Bloomberg benefit? Well, since Paul [...]

And it could happen, but some Republicans might not be so easily persuaded. First, the scenario… Let me sketch one potential scenario: Huckabee wins the Iowa caucus (which is what would happen if the election were today). Romney is second. Rudy is third and Thompson fourth. Huckabee surges into New Hampshire and his communications skills [...]

He’s apparently getting a bunch of foreign policy wonks to bring him up to speed. From Huffington Post: New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been receiving foreign policy briefing sessions on a wide variety of topics, providing the strongest indication yet that he is considering a run for the White House, the Huffington Post [...]

Why? Well, they say it will siphon votes from Dems. And while I think they’re right…umm, what about all of the fiscal conservatives? Does the GOP really think they can hang onto those voters with this current crop of candidates? From Washington Times: Some Republican activists hope New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg will make [...]

From Reuters: Bloomberg says won’t run for president By Daniel Trotta NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says he cannot win the U.S. presidency and won’t run, the strongest statement to date about his intentions for the 2008 presidential race. Bloomberg previously had said he had no plans to run, which failed [...]