More murmurs of Bloomberg's Presidential aspirations: A secret meeting is reported

[DeepModem Mom]

CBS: This Time, Bloomberg's 'No' Is Not Quite So Firm

...Ever since the Democrat-turned-Republican won re-election in 2005 -- stomping his opponent in this left-leaning town -- there have been murmurs of Bloomberg presidential aspirations. Most are fueled by one of his aides, Kevin Sheekey, who has publicly acknowledged his efforts to cajole his boss into the race.

The scenario floated by Sheekey and other supporters has Bloomberg waiting until next year, when the front-runners for both parties are clear. If one candidate is way on the left and the other far to the right, some envision room for Bloomberg right down the middle as an independent.

That is, in fact, one scenario that was floated at a secret meeting in September between Bloomberg, his aides, a top political strategist and a Wall Street money man. The meeting was reported exclusively by CBS 2's Andrew Kirtzman.

Sources told Kirtzman at the time that the dinner was held at the home of Michael Steinhardt, a legendary Wall Street hedge fund manager and a Bloomberg friend. He brought along Al From, head of the Democratic Leadership Council, which played a part in Bill Clinton's rise to power in 1992.

Kirtzman reported that the meeting had been engineered by New York City Schools Commissioner Joel Klein.

Aides to the mayor cautioned Kirtzman in September that he was very skeptical about the idea of running. In fact, one source said that at the dinner Bloomberg asked, "How likely is a 5'7"-Jew-from-New-York billionaire who's divorced and running as an independent to become president of the United States?"

http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_064150852.html

[Tiggeroshii]

1. Very interesting!

[Old and In the Way]

2. That'll win Al the appreciation of Democrats and the Clintons.....

I suspect that this would hurt Democrats a lot more than Republicans...which means another Republican Presidency. Republicans can probably tack to the Right, knowing that Bloomberg will pull Independents and a good chunk of Democrats.

He certainly has the money to buy his way in.

[Skink]

3. A moderate in the White house facing a filibuster proof dem congress.

I like it.

[aquart]

4. Think how it would eat Lieberman's liver.

That's all. Just think.

[snowbear]

5. When rotten Rudy's star power starts to fade...

Because we all know they an arsenol of attack ads they'll dust off and drag out of the GOP basment soon enough.. If it starts getting ugly like that -- I wonder if Rudy would try and link up with Bloomberg?

Are they friends?

[C_U_L8R]

6. secret meeting for a secret mayor

Bloomwho? Here in NY you wouldn't even know he was mayor.
What does he do ?

[wyldwolf]

7. The "secret meeing" wasn't so secret

the dinner was held 6 months ago and had multiple threads on DU.

The big story is this week's NewsWeek article on Bloomberg. Notice the swipe at Giuliani:

In the aftermath of 9/11, nobody thought he could fill Rudy Giuliani’s shoes. But under billionaire Michael Bloomberg, New York City’s Democrat-turned-Republican mayor, the city rebounded. He’s overseen a continued decline in the crime rate, forced restaurants to go smoke-free and has made vast strides in improving the public schools, the bane of any urban mayor. Not as ill-tempered as Giuliani, Bloomberg is doing a good job—perhaps, some New Yorkers might say, even a better job than his predecessor did. So why isn’t he the one running for president?

...and the attention from Unity08:

Hamilton Jordan, who masterminded Jimmy Carter's 1976 come-from-nowhere candidacy, and Doug Bailey, a longtime Republican consultant, have teamed up to offer a third-party centrist ticket to be chosen online in a virtual convention in June 2008. So far, 35,000 members have signed on—hardly a groundswell, but Jordan and Bailey are working to get on the ballot in all 50 states. Bloomberg would be a catch for their "Unity '08" ticket, though he might bristle at the rule that the slate has to be bipartisan and just go it alone. Still, Jordan initiated a meeting with (Bloomberg and political adviser Kevin) Sheekey. Says Jordan: "I let him know there's an opening."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17439758/site/newsweek/?from=rss

[DeepModem Mom]

9. Thanks for this info, wyldwolf! nt

[no_hypocrisy]

8. You know who's going to be really pissed if Bloomberg jumps into the race?

The ex-mayor of New York City, Rudolph Giuliani and the ex-governor of New York, George Pataki. Both have harbored the dream of deserving the presidency due to their past posts, and to have a billionaire mayor upsurp them would be unbearable. And it would also divert money from their campaigns (potential - Pataki hasn't announced yet).