Here We Perot Again

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg threw a huge honkin' monkey wrench into the presidential campaign today when he stunned politicos by announcing he was no longer a Republican. Bloomberg told the press today that he was now independent after switching his voter registration last week. With a personal wealth estimated at over $5B, he could easily underwrite his own presidential campaign, as he did in the 2005 NYC mayoral race to the tune of $85M. I'm sure the networks are already $alivating over the prospect of a national version of his blanket-ad style.

I've voted for Bloomberg twice, the only times I've ever crossed party lines, and as I've noted here many times, I continue to be largely satisfied. With the exception of a couple of notable missteps (the dumbass/never happened West Side stadium, for example), Bloomberg has had this town spinning like a top. However, critics continue to complain, perhaps justifiably, that he is out of touch with the large impoverished population of the city, who continue to be pushed further out of town in search of affordable housing.

I'm not at all sure that America is ready for a zillionaire, single, Jewish president and Bloomberg continues to maintain that his only aspiration is to remain mayor of NYC until the end of this, his final term. Not to mention the havoc that a Bloomberg candidacy could wreak on the stronger Democratic candidates, whose progressive base could be lured to his pro-gay, pro-choice, pro-immigrant positions. It also doesn't hurt that he isn't saddled with any history that gives Democrats a bad taste in their mouths. Hi, Hillary. Republican strategist Greg Strimple agrees, saying, "If he runs, this guarantees a Republican will be the next president of the United States. The Democrats have to be shaking in their boots." That IS worrisome.

But wonks are also wondering if today's move is designed to make it easier for Bloomberg to lend his endorsement and financial support to a Democratic candidate. If so, who? However you slice it, today's revelation may completely redraw the landscape. With Fred Thompson about to enter on the Republican side, all we know is we don't know anything.
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