In a New York Times Op-Ed published today, Mayor Michael Bloomberg declared that he is not a candidate for president.

Good!

Now Greens won't have to worry about this billionaire trying to buy the election as a phony "independent." Bloomberg goes on and on about how "as a businessman, I never believed that either party had all the answers," how "the message of an independent approach has resonated," the need "for a new urban agenda," and how "more of the same won't do." However, he has not one kind word about any actually independent individuals or organizations and his rap is nothing but a blend of Democratic and Republican Establishment clichés.

Published by The New York Times, February 28, 2008.
I'm Not Running for President, but ...
by Michael R. Bloomberg

WATCHING the 2008 presidential campaign, you sometimes get the feeling that the candidates - smart, all of them - must know better. They must know we can't fix our economy and create jobs by isolating America from global trade. They must know that we can't fix our immigration problems with border security alone. They must know that we can't fix our schools without holding teachers, principals and parents accountable for results. They must know that fighting global warming is not a costless challenge. And they must know that we can't keep illegal guns out of the hands of criminals unless we crack down on the black market for them.

The vast majority of Americans know that all of this is true, but - politics being what it is - the candidates seem afraid to level with them.

Over the past year, I have been working to raise issues that are important to New Yorkers and all Americans - and to speak plainly about common sense solutions. Some of these solutions have traditionally been seen as Republican, while others have been seen as Democratic. As a businessman, I never believed that either party had all the answers and, as mayor, I have seen just how true that is.

In every city I have visited - from Baltimore to New Orleans to Seattle - the message of an independent approach has resonated strongly, and so has the need for a new urban agenda. More than 65 percent of Americans now live in urban areas - our nation's economic engines. But you would never know that listening to the presidential candidates. At a time when our national economy is sputtering, to say the least, what are we doing to fuel job growth in our cities, and to revive cities that have never fully recovered from the manufacturing losses of recent decades?

More of the same won't do, on the economy or any other issue. We need innovative ideas, bold action and courageous leadership. That's not just empty rhetoric, and the idea that we have the ability to solve our toughest problems isn't some pie-in-the-sky dream. In New York, working with leaders from both parties and mayors and governors from across the country, we've demonstrated that an independent approach really can produce progress on the most critical issues, including the economy, education, the environment, energy, infrastructure and crime.
. . .
These forces that prevent meaningful progress are powerful, and they exist in both parties.
. . .

URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/28/opinion/28mike.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&o...
Michael R. Bloomberg is the mayor of New York.
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Who knows? Bloomberg may even be sincere. Nevertheless, his Establishment bias is written all over his little laundry list of issues:

"we can't fix our economy and create jobs by isolating America from global trade..."
(Translation: Let foreign sweat-shop operators do whatever they want).

"we can't fix our immigration problems with border security alone..."
(Translation: Let foreign sweat-shop operators and US sweatshop operators do whatever they want).

"we can't fix our schools without holding teachers, principals and parents accountable..."
(Translation: Let foreign sweat-shop operators, US sweatshop operators, and machine politicians running schools do whatever they want).

"fighting global warming is not a costless challenge..."
(Translation: Let foreign sweat-shop operators, US sweatshop operators, machine politicians running schools, and Big Oil do whatever they want).

"we can't keep illegal guns out of the hands of criminals unless we crack down on the black market..."
(Translation: Let foreign sweat-shop operators, US sweatshop operators, machine politicians running schools, Big Oil, and the police-prosecutor-prison-industrial complex do whatever they want).

Bloomberg's boast about his record "in New York, working with leaders from both parties..." Having lived in New York I can tell you this is exactly equivalent to boasting "In Palestine, working with leaders from both Fatah and Hamas..."

Bloomberg condemns "forces" preventing progress in both parties taking care not to say anything to offend any of them.

At best Bloomberg is a boring Obama with a lousy tan.

America, especially in the cities, needs the Green Party.

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