Is Bloomberg On McCain's List? What About Obama's?

By: Brian Montopoli
Topics: Michael Bloomberg

New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg famously flirted with a presidential run before apparently concluding that it wasn't a good idea. Now he is being discussed as a possible vice presidential candidate – if not by the likely nominees themselves, at least in the media.

The latest what-about-Bloomberg speculation comes from New York Magazine's John Heilemann, who suggests that the mayor could be a plausible choice for either Barack Obama or John McCain. (Incidentally, when was the last time it was even possible to imagine that the same man could potentially fit the bill for either major party candidate?) Bloomberg, Heilemann notes, would give both candidates more credibility when it comes to handling the economy, potentially the defining issue of the election. Here's his case for McCain/Bloomberg:

He would bolster McCain in critical swing states such as Florida, New Jersey (a state the Republicans have hopes of putting into play), and Pennsylvania—and also in California, where the McCain–Bloomberg–Arnold Schwarzenegger troika might compel Obama to spend time and money in a state that should be a gimme. He would enhance McCain's image as a moderate, a maverick, and provide him with a riposte to the charge that he's a clone of George W. Bush. (Is there any human being on Earth less like Dick Cheney than Bloomberg?) And if the mayor were willing to plow some of his fortune into the race—assuming election law allows it—he would let McCain close or, if he were feeling generous, eradicate completely the vast disparity between the two sides when it comes to moola.

And Obama/Bloomberg:

If the central doubt about Obama is his lack of experience (and, in particular, executive experience), Bloomberg would provide a degree of reassurance. Picking him would substantiate and reinforce Obama's message of pragmatism and post-partisanship. And he would go a long way toward mitigating Obama's problem with Jewish voters, a dilemma brought on by a combination of his association with the Reverend Jeremiah Wright, the nuthouse rumors that he is a closet Muslim, and his willingness to talk to anti-Israel crackpots such as Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

A necessary disclaimer: Bloomberg on either ticket remains something of a long shot, as there are plenty of reasons he wouldn't be a great idea for either candidate. (Starting, for McCain, with the mayor's positions on gun control and abortion.) See here for more.

Brian Montopoli
Brian Montopoli is the senior political reporter at CBSNews.com.
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by philly1550 May 24, 2008 1:46 AM EDT: HILLARY IS THE STRONGER CANDIDATE..AND THE DEM BOSSES SHOULD SELECT HER AS PRESIDENT NOMINEE.

BUT IF THE DEM BOSSES MAKE OBAMA THE NOMINEE, AND THEY DO NOT MAKE HILLARY THE VICE PRESIDENT...THEN HILLARY SUPPORTERS WILL BE FURIOUS THAT THE DEM BOSSES SCREWED HILLARY TWICE...AND THEY WILL ALL VOTE FOR MCAIN...AND SCREW THE DEMOCRAT BOSSES RIGHT BACK.; Reply to this comment


by l00ker May 23, 2008 9:17 PM EDT: I would vote for a McCain/Clinton ticket in a heartbeat.

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Posted by ERoosevelt08 at 04:43 PM : May 23, 2008

Let us all pray, that you do indeed get the opportunity, okay?; Reply to this comment


by eroosevelt08 May 23, 2008 7:43 PM EDT: I would vote for a McCain/Clinton ticket in a heartbeat.; Reply to this comment


by l00ker May 23, 2008 7:43 PM EDT: If Barack knows what good for him, he will leave this Bloomberg character in New York, and not even entertain this nonsense about him as a VP.; Reply to this comment