Breathless Speculation

With Michael Bloomberg introducing Barack Obama at Obama's "major speech" on modernizing financial market regulation, has the time come to replace pointless speculation about a Bloomberg presidential bid with pointless speculation about a Bloomberg vice presidential bid? I say: Yes. What better way to balance a ticket headed by a lanky black guy from Hawaii/Chicago than by adding a short Jewish guy from Boston/New York? It sounds ideal to me. Plus if Haim Saban and friends follow through on their threat to cut off the flow of big checks if Hillary Clinton doesn't get her way, Bloomberg bucks could make up the difference easily.

[Pointless speculation over]

What I'd really like to see Bloomberg do with his career, though, is invest some of his vast wealth in starting up a new policy analysis and advocacy center focused on issues of big cities and urbanism. Outside of the sub-set of urban issues that have to do with inner-city education policy, there's almost no investment in these issues in the policy game. Alternatively, Bloomberg could leave NYC and move on to a second political career as the mayor of a more challenging city. He did a good job in New York, but can he tackle the more serious problems of a Baltimore? A Detroit? That'd be truly great mayoring.

Comments

I think we should all respectfully allow Don Williams to shine in this public moment of discussion of the nefarious donor role of Haim Saban.

Don, the floor is yours.

Posted by El Cid | March 27, 2008 9:58 AM

[What I'd really like to see Bloomberg do with his career, though, is invest some of his vast wealth in starting up a new policy analysis and advocacy center ]

well yes, and I'd like to see him put it in the stockmarket, and Wolfgang Puck would like to see him spend it on gourmet pizzas.

Posted by dsquared | March 27, 2008 9:58 AM

Can't Obama lay off the high-Broderism for a while? Like for the next nine years?

Posted by Joe Klein's conscience | March 27, 2008 10:05 AM

I don't think he will do that for two reasons. One political and one more gut-based.

The political one is that Bloomberg does not bring anything to the ticket. Money ? Obama has plenty. Electoral clout ? No. Not only does his homestate vote faithfully Dem. but the two problem area for Obama will be blue collars and women. I don't see how the millionaire mayor of New York does for him in those sections of the electorate. I think this could have been possible had he won cleanly after Iowa for the sake of a unity ticket but I don't think the work Obama has to do now has anything to do with holding hands with independents.

The more gut-based one can be summed up by one name. Andrew Jonhson. When Lincoln tried to appeal to the South by adding Johnson to the ticket, noone thought any more to it than that until he got killed ... and Johnson turned out to be the antithesis of everything Lincoln was planning for Reconstruction. I think Obama knows very well there is a higher chance for him to be killed than for any previous President and he wouldn't be foolish enough to hand the white House over to a former Republican just for the sake of good PR by Washington pundits.

In other words. I don't buy it one bit.

I would see Bloomberg as a Sec. of Treasury. One of the things he has handled well in NYC is the budget and we know Wall Street likes a former CEO as Sec. Besides, it doesn't hurt to have some high-profile Jewish semi-endorsement the day NBC digs up the Hamas in church bulleting thing.

Posted by Benjamin | March 27, 2008 10:06 AM

I've taken to wondering what Bill Clinton ever did for cities? Or what the suggests his wife would (or would not) do.

In essence, I agree with Matt -- time to deal with cities. And if you added cities of 50-250,000 as well, you'd get a lot of "independents" into the Democratic fold.

Posted by David in NY | March 27, 2008 10:09 AM

Mike Bloomberg is expected to run for governor now. I'd rather have him take the largely symbolic Vice Presidency.

Posted by Antid Oto | March 27, 2008 10:17 AM

BTW, MSNBC interrupted Obama's speech to offer breaking news about Rev. Wright disparaging Italians in some writings some unknown yeas ago. Oh my god! That surely trumps how a leading presidential candidate would deal with the current economic situation if elected to office.

Posted by jj | March 27, 2008 10:24 AM

Alternatively, Bloomberg could leave NYC and move on to a second political career as the mayor of a more challenging city. He did a good job in New York, but can he tackle the more serious problems of a Baltimore? A Detroit?

I have this image in my head now of the most amazing reality show EVER. Bloomberg just wanders from city to city solving everyone's problems. It's like SimCity meets Kung Fu.

Posted by August J. Pollak | March 27, 2008 10:26 AM

Nobody cares enough about Detroit to really put a concentrated effort into reviving it. I'm not even sure good governance can save it at this point.

Posted by DDP | March 27, 2008 10:27 AM

If there's one thing billionaires love and are outstanding at, it's being the #2 guy.

Posted by Delicious Pundit | March 27, 2008 10:27 AM

In the best Democratic cycle in the past 30 years, the Yglesias/Sullivan/Peretz forces want a Republican on the Democratic ticket.

What a surprise.

Posted by Petey | March 27, 2008 10:28 AM

Re El Cid's comment "Don, the floor is yours."
-------------
Sorry. I was looking down the list, saw the name
"Lynn de Rothschild" and was overcome by waves of rib-splitting laughter.

After looking at to whom the original Balfour Declaration was addressed (see http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/mideast/balfour.htm ), I had an idea for how we can finance the war in Iraq: Write another Balfour Declaration (Part 2) and give away New Jersey.

(Lynn Forester was originally a Jersey girl)

Posted by Don Williams | March 27, 2008 10:30 AM

In the best Democratic cycle in the past 30 years, the Yglesias/Sullivan/Peretz forces want a Republican on the Democratic ticket.

You mean an independent who used to be a Republican who used to be a Democrat.

Posted by daveNYC | March 27, 2008 10:39 AM

the largely symbolic Vice Presidency.

Tell that to Dick Cheney.

Posted by Mike | March 27, 2008 10:40 AM

I felt that Bloomberg was angling for Treasury Secretary with his whole thing about an independent bid and then dropping out at the last minute at the behest of the Democratic nominee promising him that post. However, Obama's appeal to emphasizing our similarities and McCain's crossover appeal takes the wind out of any sails he would have.

Posted by Reality Man | March 27, 2008 10:44 AM

Even a stopped clock and all that, and Bloomberg is that time for Broderism.

I don't thik non-New Yorkers (MY obviosuly being one of us) really grasp what an extraordinary Mayor Bloomberg has been. There's no question that he has run the cleanest, most honet, most efficient NYC government in recent history, ot quite possibly ever. (Sure, all businessmen-turned-politicians promise this, but he's the rare example of one who delivered.) If you talk to anyone who does business with city government on a day to day basis, they'll tell you how reliable and competent and easy to work with city agencies are, compared with under Giuliani or Dinkins or Koch.

311? It just works. On the public tone of his administration -- especially around race -- there's a night-and-day contrast with Giuliani. He's been an advocate for a strong, effective public sector, and the progressive taxes needed to pay for it, in a way that very few elected officials have the courage to be. The schools ... well, I don't think any mayor could fix the schools, but he's made a lot of big steps (including squeezing far more money out of Albany than anyone would have expected a few years ago.)

I wouldn't want to see him in a more political role -- he would be a terrible candidate for President -- but a big-city mayor is mainly an administrator and on that dimension Bloomberg pretty much reached the limits of art.

Posted by lemuel pitkin | March 27, 2008 10:45 AM

Wait, Bloomberg becoming vice-president is pointless speculation, while his becoming mayor of Detroit isn't? How are you drawing the lines here?

I wrote this and then I saw Pitkin's comment, so maybe there's a point. Still, in Detroit, they don't like it when their mayoral candidates have even white middle names.

Posted by Zippy | March 27, 2008 10:49 AM

I agree with the posters above - Bloomberg brings nothing to the Dem ticket. And he's a corporatist first, so I wouldn't expect him to run Treasury any better than the shills running it now.
We really do need to check the policies and credentials of the VP candidates. It's not just a ceremonial job - look what just happened to the Lt Gov in New York.

Posted by CParis | March 27, 2008 10:51 AM

I recognized one of the names on the list: Marc Aronchick (incorrectly spelled -- should be Mark A. Aronchick).

Mark is the Big Kahuna of Democratic fundraising here in Philadelphia (and hence, for Pennsylvania.) He's partner in a downtown lawfirm. E

ven though I'm one of the very little people, he gave me an invite to hear Bill Clinton speak at the Warwick Hotel to about 150 big donors ($10,000 per plate) back in summer 2006. Nancy Pelosi was there and , I think , Rahm Emanuel. Joe Biden was there but, for some reason, seemed to be left alone by himself off in a corner of the room whereas Nancy Pelosi and entourage were in a group in the center of the room near the dais.

Mark is one of the 250 or so "Hillraisers" --responsible for raising over $100,000 via bundling. I believe he is also Co-Chair of Hillary's Pennsylvania campaign.

While Mark is Jewish, he's doesn't get involved with lobbying for Israel from what I've seen.

Instead of getting the US govenment involved in the bloodly, homicidal war between Hamas and Israel, Mark --hilariously enough -- seems to spend part of his time trying to keep the Government of Israel out of the far more bloody and Homicidal war betweeen Republicans and Democrats here in the Delaware Valley. See ,e.g, http://www.pjvoice.com/v12/12004ayalon.html and
http://www.jewishexponent.com/article/10959/ .

Posted by Don Williams | March 27, 2008 10:52 AM

Detroit Mayor Bloomburg is the most creative solution to the Kwame Kilpatrick problem yet. Bravo.

Posted by Deborah | March 27, 2008 10:53 AM

People bring this strange blindness to Bloomberg. To end this discussion in one sentence, he supports the war. Obama's strongest selling point is his consistent and correct position on this issue, and some would have him choose a VP who specifically undercuts that.

Posted by Mike B. | March 27, 2008 11:03 AM

>>leave NYC

Ha...Someone recently told me (or I read somewhere) that Bloomberg won't run for Governor because he'd have to live in Albany.

DC? Maybe. Baltimore? Slight possibility. Detroit? Um, no.

Posted by lutton | March 27, 2008 11:05 AM

Bloomberg would have been a more plausible VP candidate for McCain: his experience as an entrepreneur, CEO, and technocratic mayor of America's largest city would have complemented McCain's legislative, military, and foreign policy experience. He would also help attract some Jewish money, which McCain needs more than Obama, and perhaps give McCain a shot in nearby NJ, where Democrats might finally have some headwinds due to their orgy of increasing spending, debt, taxes, and corruption.

Posted by Fred | March 27, 2008 11:06 AM

what's the diff between baltimore and detroit? is it just east coast v mid west. is that your point?

Posted by jay | March 27, 2008 11:11 AM

Fred, New Jerseyans who wanted low taxes and low spending with its attendant lack of services and infrastructure have long since moved to loser states, having decided to forfeit the rights and privileges that come with living in the northeast.

They did have one last hurrah under the Whitman administration, but it turns out that you can't raid the state's pension and health insurance funds into prosperity.

That, and, let's face it, the cultural cliff the Republicans drove off of has made any representatives of the national republican party non-contenders in NJ. Sure, McCain could have nominated Bloomberg VP and made NJ more competitive, but around the rest of the country, republicans would stay home, rendering most swing states non-competitive, allowing the democrats to concentrate their resources in places like NJ and PA, keeping McCain bogged down.

Posted by Tyro | March 27, 2008 11:16 AM

Has anybody floated the idea of an Obama-Al Gore ticket? I wouldn't know, but I suspect that Gore would consider being VP again if asked.

Posted by cs | March 27, 2008 11:19 AM

" . . has the time come to replace pointless speculation about a Bloomberg presidential bid with pointless speculation about a Bloomberg vice presidential bid? I say: Yes."

Awesome. Political bloggers are, in general, inept at being humorous without being simultaneously sardonic and disparaging. Kudos for making a real funny and for not taking it all so damned seriously.

Posted by Adam | March 27, 2008 11:19 AM

Despite being unrealistic and impossible, Bloomberg as Baltimore mayor would be interesting. He does have significant Baltimore ties. He went to undergrad at Johns Hopkins and spend many years as the head of their board of trustees (until his NY mayoral campaign). With the university as the biggest private employer in the city, he actually does know Baltimore quite well.

Posted by bsci | March 27, 2008 11:20 AM

Baltimore already has an awesome new mayor in Sheila Dixon, thank you very much...

Posted by Spike | March 27, 2008 11:23 AM

I think Gore is happy out of politics.

I'm still hoping for Obama/Clark. Typical white guy who pwns McThuselah in national security cred. He seems a little hawkish on Iran, but he knows far more about it than I do.

Posted by Monster | March 27, 2008 11:28 AM

Monster:
Why not Jim Webb?

Posted by Joe Klein's conscience | March 27, 2008 11:38 AM

Well, let's see...

Bloomberg is a neoconish Republican billionaire who's been an enthusiastic supporter of the crazy Iraq War and played a major role in getting Joe Lieberman reelected....

We now discover---to nobody's real surprise---he's ALSO a super-enthusiastic Obama supporter, and (according to Matt) a great potential VP.

Now Matt's a twentyish blogger who once spent maybe 10 minutes with Obama, and thinks Obama will pull out of Iraq. Bloomberg's a billionaire who (I suspect) has spent a little more time with Obama and Powers and all his other advisors, and (presumably) has a pretty different perspective. It's a clear difference of Obama opinion between Matt and Bloomberg---wonder who's being "fooled"?

Do any of the Obamabots on this blogsite REALLY still believe that Obama will withdraw from Iraq?

Posted by RKU | March 27, 2008 11:39 AM

Re Obama

The definitive proof that Senator Obama is a Muslim wolf in Christian sheeps' clothing.

http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Politics/12745.htm

Posted by SLC | March 27, 2008 11:45 AM

Lutton- I live in Baltimore. I'd LOVE to have Bloomberg as Mayor. My God! Just for a moment the cynical shell around me shifted at the thought of a functional, clean city. Sigh.

Posted by Lesley | March 27, 2008 11:54 AM

Joe Klein, hasn't Jim Webb been accused of sexism multiple times? If Obama wins the nom, there will be a bunch of pissed off women, and the slightest whiff of sexism would keep them at home.

Posted by Monster | March 27, 2008 11:54 AM

Wouldn't that be something - a "Republican" Jewish VP on the Democratic ticket and a "Democratic" Jewish VP on the Republican ticket.

Who'da thunk it?

Posted by Ethel-To-Tilly | March 27, 2008 11:56 AM

Spike- Just saw your comment. I'm not so sure about Dixon. I voted for her, well because she's a Democrat. But I don't know. Meh.

Posted by Lesley | March 27, 2008 11:58 AM

"Joe Klein, hasn't Jim Webb been accused of sexism multiple times?"

Don't forget racism too. He has been accused of pointing unloaded weapons at blacks in South Central Los Angeles with his NROTC buddies and calling them "niggers" until his posse got beaten up by some blacks for doing this.

Posted by Fred | March 27, 2008 12:07 PM

Okay, Matt, I'll play along.

PLEASE, Mayor Bloomberg, come to Chicago!!! Some of we citizens of Chicago are sick to death of the dynastic government. Since Jesse Jackson, Jr. decided not to run, we're desperate for a competitive candidate to run against Chicago's Emperor.

Posted by Judy | March 27, 2008 12:10 PM

Usually love your comments, but I'm here to tell you you've been in D.C. too long. I'm into policy as much as anyone, but do you REALLY think the ideal place for Bloomberg's wealth would be "starting up a new policy analysis and advocacy center" (grin)?

Posted by bcamarda | March 27, 2008 12:18 PM

Maybe Bloomberg should invest his money in an education think tank, as Joel Klein suggested in last week's NYTimes Magazine, what with the unfolding PR disaster that is their experiment with mayoral control...

Posted by Joel Klein's conscience | March 27, 2008 12:28 PM

Bloomberg does want to invest in starting a new policy center...by starting a new party.

See this for what it really is, a counter threat to HRC's peeps. Bloomberg is saying "Steal the nomination and I will start a new party that will win".

Oh plus he totally wants FED chairman and he would be good @ it, if only bc he does not owe anyone any favors.

Posted by eh? | March 27, 2008 12:33 PM

I really like Bloomberg and I'd love to see him involved somehow. I'm not sure he provides what Obama needs on his ticket, unless Iraq continues to disintegrate. The worse Iraq gets, the better Obama's position on that issue looks, and the less he needs a foreign policy guru. However, the worse the economy becomes, the better the Democrats look generally, and a guy with fiscal policy and economic credibility starts to look pretty good to the independents.

Secretary of the Treasury would be a great role for Bloomberg, if he's interested in it.

Posted by TH | March 27, 2008 12:35 PM

What I'd really like to see Bloomberg do with his career, though, is invest some of his vast wealth in starting up a new policy analysis and advocacy center focused on issues of big cities and urbanism.

This shameless blegging for funding for a think tank that would give you a job is forgivable as you would be an ideal member of such an institution.

Posted by gregor | March 27, 2008 12:56 PM

Why not Jim Webb?

We don't want to risk losing the Senate seat.

Posted by drjimcooper | March 27, 2008 12:56 PM

Why not Jim Webb?

We don't want to risk losing the Senate seat.

Actually, that's not true. If an Obama-Webb ticket were to win the White House, I believe Virginia's senate seat would be chosen by the Democratic governor of Virginia, Tim Kaine. As Obama's VP, Sen. Webb would help out immensely with white voters from Appalachia--Obama's Achilles heel.

Posted by Moonlight | March 27, 2008 1:16 PM

Doesn't Virginia have that bizzare 1 term limit on its governors? How about Kaine, then Webb can keep his Senate seat and Warner can win the other one.

Or I suppose Warner and then Kaine can go for the other Senate seat.

Posted by Eric k | March 27, 2008 1:30 PM

I wish people would stop trying to poach Webb from VA. He'll stay in the Senate and soon be joined by the *better* Warner.

Moonlight, I have a good feeling about Obama's chances in VA without Webb on the ticket. I've heard a lot of Republicans say they'd vote for Obama over McCain. And it's a given that Webb, Warner, and Kaine will be doing their best to bring in Obama voters.

Posted by eriks | March 27, 2008 3:44 PM

Bloomberg's administration may have been more honest (in the not-taking-graft sense) than other ones, but if so that doesn't reflect well on honesty.

He has accelerated the policy of shovelling public money to private interests, happy-talked over a dramatically worsening housing and homelessness crisis, and turned the school system into a PR machine.

Posted by Tom | March 27, 2008 4:10 PM

He has accelerated the policy of shovelling public money to private interests

This is simply false.

As watchdog groups like Good Jobs New York have documented, tax breaks for individual corproations have practically stopped under Bloomberg. (Look at the linked table -- almost all the big deals are from the 1990s, with only a handful -- mostly for firms directly afected by 9/11 -- since Bloomberg took office in 2002.) While the tax code -- obviously -- still has too many loopholes, this is an area where Bloomberg's performance has been very positive by any standard.

Posted by lemuel pitkin | March 27, 2008 4:26 PM

Re Bloomberg

Labeling Bloomberg a Rethuglican is inaccurate. He joined the Rethuglican party in order to run for mayor, and has since left and labeled himself an independent. Before his mayoral activities, he was a registered Democrat. His Rethuglican affiliation was strictly a marriage of convenience.

Posted by SLC | March 27, 2008 6:28 PM

Please no don't give him more suggestions for electoral office. Even were he to go to Baltimore or Detroit, I'd imagine he'd take his preternatural ability to foist himself into discussion for any national office with him. I'll concede he's a good mayor but there is very little there to justify the sort of idolatry that comes out of the mouths of various pundits. The quicker we can get him out of office and away from the national media the better.

Posted by Matt | March 27, 2008 9:47 PM