According to the New York Post, via a Newsmax email, John McCain recently had breakfast with NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg in Manhattan. McCain’s camp denied that there was any discussion of the VP slot, but apparently a Bloomberg aide said otherwise to John Heilemann of New York Magazine.
From Newsmax:
“One of the participants, in fact, came away from the conversation under the distinct impression that Bloomberg is on McCain’s short list,” Heilemann wrote.
The Democrat turned Republican turned Independent could aid the McCain campaign in a number of ways come November, according to Heilemann:
- For one thing, billionaire Bloomberg’s entrepreneurial background could serve to counter McCain’s admitted shortcomings regarding economics.Republicans are “losing on the economy by 10 to 15 points,” said Doug Schoen, Bloomberg’s pollster during his mayoral campaigns. “With Mike on the ticket, that gap would quickly, dramatically close.”
- As a Jew, Bloomberg could strengthen McCain in several critical swing states with sizeable Jewish populations, including Florida, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.
- Bloomberg would enhance McCain’s image as a moderate, and help distance him from the policies of an unpopular president as Democrats seek to portray the Senator as a George Bush clone, Schoen maintains.“The Republican brand is dead, at least for this election,” Schoen said. “McCain needs to go outside the box, and that’s where Mike lives.”
- Perhaps most importantly, Bloomberg could provide McCain with a huge financial boost if he were willing to spend part of his fortune on the campaign.
Of course Obama has had several similarly secretive meetings with Mayor Bloomberg.
Bloomberg would clearly be a more palatable choice to the Democratic base than the Republican base.
Liberals will always gladly take a so-called Moderate to give them cover in the center. Too bad Bloomberg doesn’t have any military or foreign policy experience.
This probably won’t help Bloomberg’s chances of ending up on either ticket:
Harassment controversies
Michael Bloomberg has on numerous occasions been accused of sexually harassing women under his employment, which he has denied.[22][23] T. Diane Winger sued Mr. Bloomberg for sexual harassment, alleging that he had made explicit comments about her body and encouraged her to spend time alone with him. The lawsuit was withdrawn in 1999.[24] In 1997, a former Bloomberg L.P. employee who became pregnant while employed filed a lawsuit accusing Bloomberg of saying “Kill it!” and “great, No. 16,” a reference to the number of pregnant women in the company.[22] The lawsuit was settled the same year for an undisclosed amount of money.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Bloomberg
