Bloomberg On Obama

Very careful:

This is a city of big and small businesses, of entrepreneur and of dreams, of immigrants who come with nothing and give us everything they've got. And of families who are struggling to make ends meet. Our challenge is to build an economy that rewards their hard work and innovation. And I’m glad that senator Obama has chosen to come to our city to speak out on the economy.

There will be plenty of opinions on what he has to say, this is New York after all. And I’m not sure that all of us will agree with every idea, myself included. But it is critical that we know exactly where each candidate stands as we make perhaps the most important decision in our lives next November. It is now my pleasure to introduce, and not just because he picked up the check when we had breakfast together last month ... ladies and gentleman from the land of Lincoln, a candidate for president of the United States, Senator Barack Obama

Comments

That Bloomberg seems like one classy guy. Is he really that way?

Posted by Valdez | March 27, 2008 12:57 PM

Yes, Bloomberg is real.

Posted by D | March 27, 2008 1:04 PM

Indeed I am, Valdez, and I hope you can take me to breakfast sometime so I can prove it.

Posted by Mike Bloomberg | March 27, 2008 1:07 PM

Living in NYC, I can say that Bloomberg is extremely popular with Democrats and Republicans. Why? Because his not an ideologue, is very smart competent and rational and does not burden the populace with a messed up private life. Voted for him twice. Would do it again if I could. Don't know if he translates well onto a National scene - but for NYC he is pure gravey.

Posted by C.B. Todd | March 27, 2008 1:21 PM

I don't see much praise for Obama there.

Posted by BR | March 27, 2008 1:27 PM

Hosting probably the most important speech OBammBamm has given to date is, um, pretty high praise.

Posted by D | March 27, 2008 1:31 PM

Obama/Bloomberg '08!

What Jewish/Independent/liberal Republican problem?

Posted by DSG | March 27, 2008 1:40 PM

DSG - right, with that ticket all he'll have is a Democrat problem.

Posted by evie | March 27, 2008 1:48 PM

I've been hoping for this ticket for some time. It just makes Waaaaaay too much sense.

Posted by Chris | March 27, 2008 1:52 PM

But that ticket will mean there will be an Arab problem. No?

Posted by D | March 27, 2008 2:16 PM

Classy introduction. Obama and Bloomberg seem to have a similar pragmatic approach to policy, despite somewhate different political ideologies.

Posted by Roman | March 27, 2008 2:30 PM

Bloomberg was a Dem who switched to run for mayor. Whatever his pluses or minuses as a candidate, the notion that he's a closet conservatve isn't one. Just try to imagine going south with a VP candidate who has a longtime live-in girlfriend. That's the piece I have trouble seeing.

Look, the guy built a $5 billion a year company that basically wiped Dow Jones off the map, then was the best mayor NYC has had since LaGuardia. He has broad interests, reasonable charisma in his own way, and as other commenters have said is bottomlessly rational and sensible, at least in public.

He's set to serve through 2009. He has a better job now than Treasury Secretary.

As Veep, he'd be great at the job, whatever the job is. He'd certainly project competence. He'd also project international sophistication, having built a company that gets more than half of its clients from outside the U.S now. If you're making an argument about foreign policy sophistication, rather than militarism per se, he can do that. The man is an international freakin' player. Period. He's no Jim Webb.

I do seem to recall he made some dumb remarks a few months ago comparing some of the mideast bad guys to Lexington and Concord tho. Maybe someone could find those. They would be looming attack spots

Posted by tim | March 27, 2008 2:57 PM

note to NY/East Coast voters: nobody else in the country knows or cares who Michael Bloomberg is or what he does. nobody outside of that bubble views him as some great candidate-in-waiting, and his oh-so-not-tantalizing Presidential bid rumours were treated with a corresponding amount of indifference.

Obama would do well to pick a known and respected Democratic VP with a great deal of foreign policy experience and ability to take the brunt of oncoming Republican attacks with credibility. this would heavily undermine John McCain's only argument to the Presidency. it would also be helpful to pick a VP who's support was previously behind Hillary Clinton, as a means of healing some of the rift left by her quixotic flailing for the nomination.

Bloomberg does not fit that description in any form.

(Wes Clark does, however)

Posted by BA | March 27, 2008 3:30 PM

Seems like he went out of his way to point out that they have a relationship by alluding to the breakfast. He might have been careful in his remarks (which, after all is his style usually) but his support seems evident.

Posted by lurker | March 27, 2008 4:31 PM