Run, Mike Bloomberg!

I’m not sure how many of you watch the Republican CNN/YouTube Debate last night but I did. If you did not, let me just say this… good choice. Just listening to these blowhards out compete each other for who hates immigrants more, or who loves American values better than the man next to him is sickening.

I especially loved CNN’s attempt to focus the entire debate on Rudy and Romney, but this post isn’t about republican candidates, but about the genius of Bloomberg. I don’t believe anyone on that stage won in the eyes of the American people. When there are 8 people (or however many it was) on the stage at one time, each only slightly differing from the others, and comments are limited to around 30 seconds, the pressure to say simplistic sound bites is just too tempting. Nuanced points are impossible in these arenas. I bet any of those candidates, even the CNN favorites, would prefer to skip this process and just be on stage with 1 Republican and 1 Democrat.

This is what Bloomberg is doing, by waiting he is actually cutting through the messiness of pre-primary politics. When he finally joins he race he will have an opportunity to jump right into that very situation. By putting a smart, articulate candidate, unspoiled by months of negative attacks, on stage with whoever comes out of the mud fight in both the Republican and Democratic camps, it is clear that the American people will see who is most presidential.

By my sources I have been assured, the campaign is being “Actively Managed” as we speak. I bet they had this same thought process a year ago, and I believe it is working perfectly.

I’m not sure how many of you watch the Republican CNN/YouTube Debate last night but I did. If you did not, let me just say this… good choice. Just listening to these blowhards out compete each other for who hates immigrants more, or who loves American values better than the man next to him is sickening.

I especially loved CNN’s attempt to focus the entire debate on Rudy and Romney, but this post isn’t about republican candidates, but about the genius of Bloomberg. I don’t believe anyone on that stage won in the eyes of the American people. When there are 8 people (or however many it was) on the stage at one time, each only slightly differing from the others, and comments are limited to around 30 seconds, the pressure to say simplistic sound bites is just too tempting. Nuanced points are impossible in these arenas. I bet any of those candidates, even the CNN favorites, would prefer to skip this process and just be on stage with 1 Republican and 1 Democrat.

This is what Bloomberg is doing, by waiting he is actually cutting through the messiness of pre-primary politics. When he finally joins he race he will have an opportunity to jump right into that very situation. By putting a smart, articulate candidate, unspoiled by months of negative attacks, on stage with whoever comes out of the mud fight in both the Republican and Democratic camps, it is clear that the American people will see who is most presidential.

By my sources I have been assured, the campaign is being “Actively Managed” as we speak. I bet they had this same thought process a year ago, and I believe it is working perfectly.

If I was a Bloomberg Strategist, I would be excited by today’s news. Hillary is trailing all top Republican Candidates. This is big, this is really big. We have an incumbent party every loves to hate, and the democrats have found a way to set themselves up to clutch defeat at the hands of victory.

Why does this matter for Bloomberg? I’ll tell you; this leaves a huge gaping whole in the democratic party of people who are looking for an elect able alternative that is anything that is not Mitt Romney or Rudy Giuliani. Bloomberg would give them this opportunity.

So far, most people, when asked who Bloomberg would take votes from are saying it would be Republicans. This means Democrats would not be afraid to vote for a third party that they, in their heart of hearts, like better than Hillary. So that huge percentage of democrats would refuse to vote for Hillary would probably join the Bloomberg Camp. He then would take the swath of Republican voters that are looking to an alternative to the neo-con scary right of Romney or Giuliani.

Stay tuned, day by day, I get increasingly excited about the B man. I have called it before, but I’m telling you, after the primary’s our man is in the race.

Why the man is THE MAN:

He is Green
Mayor Michael Bloomberg Signs Executive Order Establishing Committee ToReduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions From City Owned Buildings AndOperations By 30 Percent Over The Next Decade - Fulfilling PlaNYCCommitment

He Fixed New York schools
Mayor Bloomberg Accepts Broad Prize for Urban Education Recognizing NewYork City as Nation's Most Improved Urban School District

He is Amazing in Public Health
Mayor Bloomberg Accepts The Julius B. Richmond Award From The Harvard School Of Public Health

He Knows how to run an economy
Statement By Mayor Michael Bloomberg On New York City's Lowest Unemployment Rate Ever

He is Fiscally Responsible
Smart Spending

He is sensible about guns
Mayor Bloomberg And Senator Lautenberg Announce Support For Sen. FrankLautenberg -- Rep. Peter King Bill To Keep Guns Out Of Terrorist Hands

He is a visionary in the field of Affordable Housing
Mayor Bloomberg And Governor Spitzer Open First Green Affordable Housing Residential Development In New York

He is a world class Philanthropist
Record Breaking Giving

He is on the "correct" side of almost every issue out there. Sure there are things to find fault with... I guess.. if you look hard enough. You can hold it against him that he's divorced, or that he is "too rich". But these facts don't seem to play a role in how he's governed New York, or how he would govern the US. He doesn't need more money, he doesn't need more power, he is in this most difficult game not for respect, but to help people. He knows he can do a better job than those currently in power becuase he has done it. New York is no easy place to run and he's done it with aplomb. I don't even really think we should be asking, is this man good enough to deserve the position of power, we should be asking ourselves, are we truly worthy of finally having good leadership.

I'm not sure what that answer is. I know I want it to be yes, but if it turns out it is really terribly difficult to raise ground up support for such a great man, I'm not sure what it means for us, what it shows of us.

Urge this man to run, give this man a starting place for when he does, let me know there legions of us out there who want him, urging him to run.

This post started as an email I was trying to write to a friend explaining why he should help me with this blog and this movement, but after writing it I figured I should just throw it up. The problem is, as a blogger I'm not really that good. It's not tough to find flattering articles about Michael Bloomberg, they flood my inbox every day, its that I have a hard time getting excited about the newest amazing thing he has done becuase I already expect it from him. I find it terribly difficult to write yet another post about how he's done xyz thing. It seems almost to obvious, look at his record, look at what he stands for, I shouldn't have to give another reason why people should want him to run, people should be beating down his door.

But, this is the point of people like me and of sites like this one. Help me, I know there are people who believe what I believe, I hear from you all the time. Join this cause, I am telling you it is not for nothing. He will run, and you can make a difference.

In 1928 New York Governor Al Smith became the first Roman Catholic to run for President of the United States. He lost that election but it is widely believed that he paved the way for John F. Kennedy to run and win in 1960. Each year the Archdiocese of New York hosts a fundraiser at the Waldorf in his honor. During Presidential cycles this dinner doubles as a must see-and-be-seen for any legitimate Presidential candidate. It's a big deal. The West Wing even did an episode on it where the two candidates debated in the kitchen before being introduced. Last night however the two front running candidates from each party were not in attendance, even though they have attended this event before, are from (well in Hillary's case represents) New York and were surely invited. Why didn’t they show up? We'll get to that in a moment.

In attendance were Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair, Senator Chuck Schumer, Governor Spitzer, Mayor Bloomberg, and City Council Speaker Quinn amongst New York's power elite. The 1,100 person dinner at $1,000 a plate just oozes political connections and prowess so why wouldn't the former mayor of New York or the current Senator from New York, who are both running for President, not want to get involved?

I’ll tell you why.

If they went last night, the story this morning would be that Mayor Michael Bloomberg got a larger ovation then the two of them…combined. The dinner is by no means a description of the American electorate but it is a room full of people who know about politics and have the influence to do something about it. From the standing ovation he received last night (contrasted by a “warm” reception for Gov. Spitzer) it is clear that Mike Bloomberg is there guy. If Hillary or Rudy went last night the only thing people would be talking about today (besides Joe Torre) is the fact that when these three people are side by side, in the same room, Mike Bloomberg is the most popular. Bloomberg scares them so much they are afraid to be in the same room with him for fear that he would out shine them! If Hillary and Rudy went to the dinner there would be a story in every newspaper today saying Michael Bloomberg got the bigger reception and would muse about a Bloomberg Presidential run. However, unfortunately for us, Hillary and Rudy did not go so I had to write this and point out to our millions of readers what would have happened. Hillary and Rudy can run and hide from the dais at the Waldorf now, but next fall they will have no excuses, be it at the Al Smith dinner or a three person Presidential debate stage. When they finally get into a room with Michael Bloomberg, it will become clear who the real leader is.

Read articles about the dinner here:

NY Times
NY Times Where’s Rudy and Hill?
BBerg More Popular then Governor
NY Daily News BBerg
Have a nice weekend. I hope it doesn’t rain.

City Hall News’ Edward-Isaac Dovere has seemingly broken into Kevin Sheekey’s “Mike for President” hidden bunker and stolen the game plan for which Michael Bloomberg will run for President in 2008. He makes many good points that are worth mentioning, especially to those who cannot yet justify reading a sixteen page article about a man running for an office he has said he does not want a thousand times, so I have outlined a few here.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has addressed and has an articulate stance “education, guns, immigration, fiscal policy, environmental sustainability and to an extent, homeland security.” All of these are crucial to the 2008 election. Dovere points out that Mayor Bloomberg has not really given a coherent answer on the war in Iraq except for more international involvement. For now that answer is fine, Mayor Bloomberg is just a Mayor and not officially running for anything. It would be out of place for him to challenge such a broad national issue to which he does not have a lot of say. Make no mistake however; Michael Bloomberg did not create his empire by being unprepared. While his public views on Iraq have been unquotable at best, you had better believe he has briefing book upon briefing book in that bullpen of his on the issue and when the time comes to have a concrete and nuanced position on the war he will have one ready to go.
The single largest obstacle to an Independent Presidential candidacy is to get on the ballot in all 50 states. For a Mike Bloomberg run this is nothing but a formality. Unity08, an organization committed to having an Independent ticket on the ballot in 2008 will have already taken care of most of the ground work and if Bloomberg decides to get into the race, his money will put there cause over the top. Unity08’ is a worthy grassroots cause but they probably will not have the resources to finance and field just any candidate, for them to be successful it’s Mike Bloomberg for President or Bust.

Mayor Bloomberg says that he wants to devote his post-mayoral career to philanthropy and aiding worthy causes and giving back. I believe him when he says this. Giving to Johns Hopkins and the Met is nice but how about helping out the 45 million plus people in this country that do not have health insurance? What about providing better education to our countries youth? What about a comprehensive plan for environmental sustainability at the dawn of the 21st century? If Mayor Bloomberg really wants to focus on helping people in his next career 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue would be a better headquarters for those efforts then the mansion he just bought on 79th and 5th and he knows that too.

If he’s in it, he’s in it to win, he expects too much from himself and the people around him to expect anything less then first. Ross Perot, the last legitimate Independent candidate got into the race in February of 1992 and spent the next 5 months blanketing the nation with advertising. By June he was in the lead with 39 percent, compared to then President George H.W. Bush with 31% and Arkansas Governor William Clinton with 25%. While it turned out Perot was not cut from Presidential cloth he still got 20% of the popular vote from a constituency that covered the spectrum of political ideology and demographics. Candidate Bloomberg would surly not make the same mistakes. Perot was a novice politician who never ran for anything. Bloomberg has been through two mayoral elections and saw his approval rating, once in the 30’s, now consistently in the 70’s and is dubbed by some the best Mayor of New York has ever had. He’ll learn from Perot and do it twice as well. If that holds true he would get 40% of the popular vote and probably be our next president.

The bottom line is that if Mayor Bloomberg decides the best way he can help people is to be President he is going to be on the ballot and he is going to be a legitimate contender. Then it will be three candidates on a stage vying for the vote of the American people, and I think that’s all we can really ask for. Game plans are useful and provide a good ground work going forward but in Presidential campaigns they are rewritten by the six o’clock news. I encourage every one to read the full article.

It seems so simple on paper yet infinitely more difficult to execute. Take a look at any of the current candidate’s game plans and you might not find Mayor Bloomberg anywhere. But come February of 2008, those game plans may well be useless.

If you didn’t see it today, Mayor Bloomberg released a new statement about him and the upcoming ’08 election.

Last week when I was in Washington to discuss poverty in America, I was asked (again) whether I am running for President. As I've said before and I'll say again – I am not running.

But, "Are you running?" is the wrong question. The question should not be about politics, but about leadership. Not who is the best candidate, but who will be the best President.

The country faces very real and very big challenges: creating growth in a global economy, fighting terrorism, meeting our energy needs, tackling global warming, and reforming public education.

We need solutions that are innovative and bold, not superficial half-steps that are driven by politics, partisanship, or special interest campaign contributions. We need real solutions that honestly address the big challenges we face as a nation.

For too long, the American people have been served up empty promises based on what politicians think we want to hear. It's time for something real. That's our challenge as a nation. That's what this upcoming campaign needs to be about. And these are the issues and challenges that I will continue to address.

We here at RunMikeBloomberg are pretty sure he wants to run, but will not unless he feels he can win. This tells us we need to show him that he can!
Let show him he has support. If your on Facebook, friend him here, if you use Myspace friend him here.
Let’s show this candidate we care.

This is a sad week. Yet this week should have brought a great victory for the state, the city and the Mayor. The incredible incompetence of this states assembly, specifically Sheldon Silver, is astonishing. The fact they could not recognize a $500 Million gift is beyond comprehensive and borders on the insane. It is episodes like these that make an Independent candidate so appealing. We need to get out of “Politics as usual”, it is destructive, and ultimately, it is the citizens of this great country who suffer.

According to the most recent public Opinion poll, 66% of New Yorker’s rated him either “good” or “Excellent”. What is quite possibly more amazing, is that a tiny number, 8% of those polled, rated his performance as “poor”. This is astonishing when considering who were talking about lives in New York. We have all nationalities, all income levels, republicans and democrats, immigrants and those who have been here for a 100 years, and yet they all think he’s doing a wonderful job.

Yes it is true that the poll also revealed that a majority does not want him to run in 2008, but we firmly believe those same people will change their mind quickly when he truly does announce his campaign. No one (no one but us that is) wants to get their hopes up when there is a chance that he won’t even run at all, but I think the nation is in for a shock when they see just how many people are ready for a new direction, a rational direction.

Use this site to express your support and convince those around you were not alone!

This is crunch time. The federal government has given until Monday for New York to decide if they want up to $500 Million to start a pilot program for congestion-pricing. It would be a staggering failure if New York dose not take this money and Mr. Bloomberg recognizes this and is fighting to get this plan on track. He’s own words

“First, a congestion charge will reduce gridlock immediately in all five boroughs, easing the stranglehold traffic currently has on our economy. The price of congestion in fuel costs, delayed deliveries and lost productivity is already $13 billion a year - and will only get worse unless we act now. So will the air pollution which results in children in some of our city's neighborhoods being hospitalized for asthma at close to four times the national average.

Second, a congestion charge will generate the revenue we need to upgrade and expand our mass-transit system. The vast majority of New Yorkers commute by mass transit - only 5 percent drive into Manhattan for work - and yet we have not expanded the subway system since 1981. It is no secret which projects we need: East Side Access, the Downtown Rail Link to Jamaica, the Second Avenue Subway, Bus Rapid Transit, increased bus and ferry service, and others. But if you add them all up, we are more than $30 billion short, and no one wants to talk about where the money to plug that gap will come from. It is time we do. Congestion pricing will yield nearly $400 million per year, and 100 percent of it will go to transit improvements.

By simultaneously reducing congestion and finally finding a way to expand our mass-transit system, we will remove the greatest barriers to our economic expansion and prepare the city for long-term growth. That's one of the reasons our congestion-pricing plan has been endorsed by more than 140 civic, business, environmental, labor, community and public health organizations. A growing list of elected officials from every community and the editorial boards of New York's biggest newspapers, including this one, have signed on, too.”

It’s hard to argue with this logic, but he is just one person and he needs our help. We need to call our local state representatives today and tell them we will not forgive them for letting such an opportunity go by.

Call or write to Sheldon Silver at his district office:

DISTRICT OFFICE
250 Broadway
Suite 2307
New York, NY 10007
212-312-1420

Or Albany Office:
LOB 932
Albany, NY 12248
518-455-3791

Call or write Joseph L. Bruno at his district office:
368 Broadway
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
(518)-583-1001
Or his Albany Office:
Room 909 Legislative Office Building
Albany, NY 12247
(518) 455-3191