Don't let the screen door hit you, Michael

I've never quite seen the allure of New York mayor Michael Bloomberg. Perhaps it's because I don't live near the Apple anymore or perhaps it's due to the occasional gun control story trickling out. Don't know why he should be seen any differently than the mayor of any other medium or large city in America. Well, except for ours.

But, for some reason people are making a big deal out of his so-called departure from the GOP and possible run for president as an independent. Maybe it's the notion he'll pull right wing voters away and ensure a Dem victory ala Perot in 1992, but based on the following comments made at Google headquarters (where they routinely exclude Memorial Day, Flag Day and Veterans Day in their cutish little holiday tributes) he sounds more like a stock Democrat anyway:

“Whoever out of those 20 becomes president I think has to do something about a country that I think is really in trouble,” Mr. Bloomberg said, referring to the current crop of candidates. “There’s the war, there is our relationships around the world.”

“Our reputation has been hurt very badly in the last few years,” he continued, criticizing what he called a “go-it-alone mentality” in an increasingly interconnected world.

Going it alone, which I reckon puts Poland, Australia, Britain and the NATO countries in some kind of bizarre unilateral coalition. This sounds more like liberal boilerplate code talk.

Speaking of which, the mayor might have also been doing likewise when he mocked terrorism--not quite calling it a bumper sticker--but suggesting the candidates should be spending more energy talking about how they'll protect us from street crime. This will resonate to many but in reality it sends two messages--one, that he'll be coming for guns and two, he'll let the FBI and CIA fight terrorism.

OK sure, we're all more likely to become crime victims that terrorism victims, same as it was prior to 9/11. The difference is that most criminals want your money, not your country and would certainly think twice about setting off a nuke or blowing up a bus full of kids just to get your wallet. As to gun control we're still waiting for the day when a gun kills somebody by itself. Shall we ban Boeing 757s because of 9/11?

The pundits are speculating as to what effect a Bloomberg campaign would have on the others, in other words, would he be seen more as a Nader or Perot? I'm leaning towards Nader due to the above comments, which will be altered full bore if he comes out in support of the 9/11 truthers. But from just seeing him from a distance I don't think his impact will be that great no matter how much he spends.

NO THANKS 6/21/07

As a former resident of the great Northeast corridor I still have some fond memories of the region from New York northward. That doesn't mean this would sit very well on the ole tummy, though. It's bad enough when the Mets and Yanks face off in the World Series..