Last week was a gloomy one for Bloomberg boosters:
California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has called Bloomberg his "soulmate" in pragmatic, bipartisan governing, endorsed Republican Arizona Sen. John McCain.
Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman, another close Bloomberg ally who has backed McCain, said a McCain candidacy would likely keep the mayor out of the race because the two men would tap into the same independent-minded base.
Bloomberg himself tacked on an unusual ending to his usual "I am not a candidate" response, adding, "and I'll stay that way" at a Thursday appearance at Google's New York offices.
Even Karen Gallet, an original organizer of a local draft Bloomberg effort, is giving up the fight. "All those indicators that we thought would lead up to his considering it seriously don't seem to be happening," she said. "The clincher for me was McCain. He's about 70% of everything Bloomberg stands for."
All this would seem to point to an end to a much-hinted but never-declared Bloomberg 2008 candidacy.
Bloomberg supporters would prefer a race between New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who are more politically divisive and less personally appealing than Sen. Barack Obama and McCain, a friend of Bloomberg's.
The developments, however, have not derailed the behind-the-scenes work of Deputy Mayor Kevin Sheekey, the mayor's top political aide, sources said.
"Nothing's changed. These guys are full-speed ahead," said one source close to the effort.
The sort-of campaign, including former Bloomberg aide Patrick Brennan and Independence Party of America Chairman Frank MacKay, is still working on getting Bloomberg on the ballot in every state, sources said. Venture capitalist James Robinson 4th told the New York Sun last week that his Symposia Group has collected and analyzed mounds of data on behalf of Bloomberg that show he could win.
The furious effort could be read as one last push by Sheekey to convince his boss that he has a shot at winning in a field that's no longer as clear-cut as it once was.
Bloomberg backers think there could be room for him in the middle as the economy slows and the candidates have to run to the left or right to appeal to party stalwarts.
"He's as close now [to deciding to run] as he ever has been," the source said.
Asked directly on Friday whether the results from Super Tuesday would lead him to "reevaluate" his "personal situation," Bloomberg instead launched into an analysis of the nomination process.
"Both parties have wide-open races at the moment. There are more than one viable candidate in both parties," he said. "And that's good for the country."
kdanis@nydailynews.com
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