Mike Bloomberg, You Flirt

Mike Bloomberg may not be running for president, but don't tell that to the press corps. They're going ga-ga with anticipation, and it might just break their heart.

In recent days we've seen a flurry of stories and public comments about a possible Bloomberg run, capped off today with a Washington Times piece claiming that "New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is prepared to spend an unprecedented $1 billion of his own $5.5 billion personal fortune for a third-party presidential campaign." The source? "Personal friends of the mayor."

So he's prepared. But should he go for it? Take it away, Daily News:

Michael Bloomberg is not only a better mayor of New York than Rudy Giuliani - he'd make a better President, too.

That's the result of a Daily News poll released today that asked the voters who know best - New Yorkers - which man belongs in the White House.

City voters overwhelmingly chose Mayor Mike over America's Mayor as their pick for President, 46% to 29%.

Reporters love will-they-or-won't-they-run stories, as evidenced by the media interest in potential candidates like Bloomberg, Fred Thompson, and Newt Gingrich. It's become common knowledge in political circles that one of the best ways to keep the press corps focused on your candidacy is, officially at least, not to have one. If you join the race, you're just another generic face in the crowd. The media doesn't pay you much mind unless you're a frontrunner. But if you just flirt, twinkle your eyes, and say "we'll see?" Like a bunch of love struck schoolboys, reporters can't get enough of you.

You could argue that Bloomberg hasn't exactly been flirting – he flat-out denied that he's running, after all. But, of course, so did Barack Obama, and we know how that turned out. Plus, as Craig Crawford notes, Bloomberg has embarked on "nationwide speaking schedule and a second-term mayoral agenda emphasizing immigration and other national issues with local tie-ins." Oh, and his buddy Chuck Hagel told Bob Schieffer, “I think Mayor Bloomberg is the kind of individual who should seriously think about this.” (Bloomberg laughed it off as a joke.)

The New York Times has an account of what happened today when Bloomberg went to the Albany today to pitch a plan for reducing New York City congestion that gives a sense of the atmosphere now surrounding the mayor:

Although Mr. Bloomberg’s visit was ostensibly about the environment, there was also considerable talk around the Statehouse on Monday about whether he might run for governor or president since term limits require him to leave office at the end of 2009.

Enough interest, indeed, that Mr. Bloomberg tried to dismiss such questions before reporters could even ask them.

Given the more than 900 “days left in this job — and I’m not running for governor and I’m not running for president — the time to do this is now,” he said during a news conference.

One can't help but wonder how many of those more than 900 days are going to be spent dealing with those questions over and over again.