Speculation over Bloomberg candidacy grows

Speculation over Bloomberg candidacy grows

By Christopher Grimes in New York
Published: January 6 2008

Michael Bloomberg, who is expected to decide sometime in the next eight weeks whether to launch an independent bid for the US presidency, is on Monday meeting leading members of both main political parties who have expressed deep frustration with the state of the campaign.

Organisers of the forum, to take place on Oklahoma, say it is not meant to be a launching pad for a bid by Mr Bloomberg, New York’s mayor. But it will keep him in the national discussion ahead of Tuesday’s primaries in New Hampshire, while also giving him the chance to woo distinguished members of both parties who could add muscle to a bid if he chooses to run.

The event’s planners – David Boren, a former Republican senator from Oklahoma, and Sam Nunn, the former Democratic senator from Georgia – have raised the possibility of supporting a third-party bid.

But both say they would do so only if the primaries yielded candidates who failed to commit themselves to ending the deep partisan divisions in Washington. Mr Boren said the goal of the forum was to pressure the current candidates to end partisan gridlock. “Our hope is that the candidates of the two parties will respond favourably to this challenge,” Mr Boren said.

“If the two parties do not rise to the occasion, then it might well become necessary for an independent candidate to step forward.”

The event, coming on the heels of the Iowa caucuses and a day before the New Hampshire primary, will intensify speculation of a run by Mr Bloomberg. Though Mr Bloomberg says he is “not a candidate”, his chief political adviser has suggested that the mayor can hold off on making a decision until as late as the Texas primary on March 4.

Mr Bloomberg’s wealth, built on the success of the financial information group Bloomberg LP, has been estimated at as much as $13bn. With a potential war chest of $1bn, he can afford to put off the decision until the nominees for both parties are set.

Mr Bloomberg, who has quit the Democratic and Republican parties since entering politics this decade and is now an independent, also has called for an end to partisanship. His independence on issues such as immigration, gun control and trade would be likely to be the big theme of a campaign.