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New This might be the year.
The climate seems to be that there's a hunger for an outsider - even more than in 1992. Too many Democrats don't want to create a Clinton Dynasty by electing Hillary, but Obama seems too light-weight (as does Edwards in some respects) and the other major player have too much baggage (e.g. Biden and Dodd), or seem flaky in some respect or other (e.g. Richardson, Kucinich).

On the Republican side, only Ron Paul seems to be willing to say that the mess we're in is, to a very large extent, the result of "conservative" Republican policies. Most of them are running as a continuation of Bush and I don't think the country will buy it again. There are also far too many lightweights (e.g. Romney, and Thompson when he gets in) and religion advocates (e.g. Huckabee) for most people to get excited about their prospects.

That leaves a very big opening for an independent. Bloomberg is a very smart, very rich man who knows how politics works. He's had a significant elected office, and he wouldn't make the mistakes that Perot did in debates and in interactions with the press. He would be a formidable national candidate, but he would have a great deal of difficulty fighting the party establishments for access to ballots and debates and the like.

I don't know if he's going to run or not, but his [link|http://www.nyc.gov/portal/site/nycgov/menuitem.c0935b9a57bb4ef3daf2f1c701c789a0/index.jsp?pageID=mayor_press_release&catID=1194&doc_name=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nyc.gov%2Fhtml%2Fom%2Fhtml%2F2007a%2Fpr205-07.html&cc=unused1978&rc=1194&ndi=1|statement] certainly makes it sound like he has national ambitions (3rd and 4th paragraphs).

FWIW.

Cheers,
Scott.
New If nothing else, he will direct some of the national debate.
For one thing, Bloomberg is not a fruit cake like Perot was before the 1992 election. He doesn't have to kiss butt to get monetary support. He's a billionaire.

I recall [link|http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bayard_Anderson|John Anderson] in the 1980 election who left the Republican Party and ran as an Independent. Indeed I heard the man speak in Charlotte's Independence Square. The campaign turned out to be a fool's errand and shows the two party system to be impregnable.

I think Bloomberg can only help things by stirring the pot.

Alex

When fascism comes to America, it'll be wrapped in a flag and carrying a cross. -- Sinclair Lewis
New The world would be amazingly different if JA had won...
New The world would have to have been different for him to win.
As for Bloomberg, it'll take more than just money to break the two party scam open.
-----------------------------------------
Atheism is a religion in the same sense that not collecting stamps is a hobby.
New The situation is primed for it though
Both major parties are imploding. The Republicans are falling apart as the machine that put Bush in power has reached the end of the road and the price on their various illegal schemes is coming due. And the Democrats can't get organized enough to vote for a bill that says "Democrats are cool." If this situation continues into 2008, the country will be primed for an outsider to come in.

Perot managed 18% of the popular vote, and that despite some serious problems with his campaign. Bloomberg is a much more experienced politician and isn't likely to such blunt mistakes and should be able to organize better ahead of time. I do think that if he really wants to win he needs to move soon.

If his goal is just to shake up current politics and force some issues to the front, he can wait longer. He has the money to make a splash even if he waits till the last minute. Remember that Perot may not have won, but he did force deficit spending by the federal government to the level of a national issue and force discussion of other things the major parties would have rather left unsaid.

Jay
     Bloomberg leave GOP - (JayMehaffey) - (9)
         This might be the year. - (Another Scott) - (4)
             If nothing else, he will direct some of the national debate. - (a6l6e6x) - (3)
                 The world would be amazingly different if JA had won... -NT - (Another Scott) - (2)
                     The world would have to have been different for him to win. - (Silverlock) - (1)
                         The situation is primed for it though - (JayMehaffey)
         Openly stated lack of principles? - (warmachine) - (2)
             Seems very pragmatic to me - (admin)
             Also.... - (jake123)
         Imagine my surprise, I read it as "broomberg" - (folkert)

Sorry, you are not a winner.
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