Bloomberg makes it official in Thursday New York Times op-ed that he will not run for president. So, as I have pointed out dozens of times in this blog, if you were a better person it would have worked out best to just trust the first hundred times he was denying he would run for president.

I am not — and will not be — a candidate for president. But I’ll join others in helping a candidate with an independent, nonpartisan approach win the White House.

NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who is heavily rumored to be considering a third party White House run, announced in his state of the city address a proposal to extend a $1 Billion property tax cut. It is a move that would undoubtedly please New Yorkers but some see it as another step in Bloombergs presidential aspirations, specifically as a means to appeal to anti-tax conservatives.

From an Associated Press piece:

With Bloomberg set to travel to the important electoral states of Texas and California this week, political analysts said his tax-cutting proposal could help his image with anti-tax proponents and show that he has confidence in the city’s economy.

“He would be … wanting to project an image that he’s smart about running economic matters, which he would argue the country is going to be needing very much in the next couple of years,” said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist Institute for Public Opinion.

So is this another sign Bloomberg will run? I personally am as skeptical as I always have been. At this point I don’t know what Bloomberg could do, short of putting a lampshade on his head and yelling racial slurs, that wouldn’t be interpreted as a sign that he is running for president by the media. Even then I am sure they could find a constituency they would say he was appealing to.

The Bloomberg speculation probably won’t end until November.

There is a rather odd report in the New York Times about how people are tiring of waiting for Mayor Bloomberg to make a decision about running for the presidency as an independent. In addition I saw a report, I believe on CNN, echoing the same sentiment. From the NYT Piece:

The political parlor game — Will he run? When will he decide? How much could he spend? — that has so delighted Mr. Bloomberg is suddenly sparking a backlash. Editorial pages from The Wall Street Journal to The New York Post, The Village Voice and The New Yorker have taken him to task. Members of the administration have been rolling their eyes and referring to Kevin Sheekey, Mr. Bloomberg’s political architect, as the deputy mayor for presidential politics.

Here is my thought. Last time I checked it was the media speculating on a run. Everytime I see Bloomberg or people around him they say “no, he isn’t running, stop asking or at the very least wait until there are nominees.” Last time I also checked, nobody was standing up demanding a Mike Bloomberg run in the first place. Much like Fred Thompson I just remember reporters and commentators getting on the air telling us all that there is a demand for a third party and he could fill it. Are they sure about that, or are they just making it up?

Until Bloomberg announces, nobody is forcing news networks or papers to give the mayor free advertising by speculating. Personally I have to believe if he isn’t running, Bloomberg might be one of the smartest people around. The company he founded is under his last name and every news network and paper in the country keeps spreading that name for free. If he doesn’t run, they will have given him endless hours of free advertising and all it took was a couple of people who may or may not actually know something to suggest he might run.

So my suggestion is, if the media is getting inpatient, it should move onto covering something else. Like perhaps some of the other candidates who are running for president but get no space.

NYC Mayor Bloomberg and twelve current and former officials are meeting today to discuss ways to end partisan polarization amid much speculation that Bloomberg is eyeing a potential White House bid.

You can read more reports from Associated Press, Reuters and Financial Times.

From Mark Halperin:

Who asked who? Bloomberg’s staff reached out at some point to Obama’s campaign and basically offered Obama a standing invitation to talk when he was in town, to sit and have coffee.

What did they say? The two men talked this morning about the economy, education, homeland security, and global warming…

More: Obama paid for the breakfast (he ate eggs over easy and wheat toast while the Mayor had scrambled eggs and white toast).

The report is in suggestive red writing at Drudge and the AP is reporting:

Bloomberg spokesman Stu Loeser declined to say why the two were meeting. An Obama spokesman did not immediately return calls.

Will this develop into something other than endless media speculation? Only time will tell.

“Nobody’s going to elect me president of the United States.” (Michael Bloomberg)

I would say Bloomberg put speculation to rest today when transcripts from an interview were released of the NYC mayor telling Dan Rather and HDnet that he wasn’t running for president, but I know better. The idea that Bloomberg was going to run for president was fueled by endless media speculation and a few journalists (I am looking at you Bob Novak) who kept claiming to have “source” feeding them information directly from the candidate.

I have been a pessimist downer about the whole affair from the beginning and I remain that today. Bloomberg will not run for president, he said he won’t run for president, he was saying he wouldn’t run for president way back when this whole thing started and he will be saying it up until election day. With that said, there will no doubt continue to be speculation especially since the news is dead this August.

I don’t know if NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg is doing to run or not. I don’t think ANYONE has an idea even though they are spending plenty of time speculating. I will say that Bloomberg has done a great job of turning such speculation into endless media attention (not a bad thing when your last name is also the name of a giant media corporation). Bloomberg has done it again with mike2008.com a site that currently points to his official personal Web site.

The domain name has revived the the speculation of a Bloomberg.

One of the great advantages of the Internet and the current swarm of 24/7 media outlets is that you don’t actually have to run for president to begin running for president. Just ask Al Gore, Newt Gingrich, Fred Thompson & of course Bloomberg.

The media is fixed on Bloomberg becoming a candidate and on the racial, religious, ethnic & gender differences in 2008.

The big thing now is throwing in descriptors about Bloomberg for articles including of course the fact that he is Jewish.

Reuters: He’s from New York, an independent and Jewish.

But best of all the candidate himself remarked a couple of times on the liklihood of a short, jewish man winning the president which seemed to open the floodgates.

Eric Alterman: “Short Jewish billionaires from Manhattan who love gun control, gays and abortionists don’t win national elections.”

New York Sun: “Never mind that there’s no national constituency in American politics for a four-foot-tall nasal Jew with a Boston accent”

I can see the campaign sign now: Vote Bloomberg the short, nasal, abortionist loving, gay sex having chosen person!

At least The Toronto Star did at least use the quote on the side in H1 “A short, Jewish billionaire from New York? C’mon. Michael Bloomberg, New York mayor, on his chances of being president”

If you visit HuffingtonPost today the speculation train just keeps on moving!

This will undoubtedly continue until Al Gore wears a red, white & blue tie and it shifts to him. Then if Newt Gingrich salutes the flag we can expect coverage of him and then if John Kerry votes for a bill before not voting for a bill we can speculate on him for awhile.

WORD TO THE MEDIA - CALM DOWN