Bloomberg May Run For President After Becoming “Frustrated” With Race Gone “Haywire”

Submitted by Tyler Durden on 01/23/2016 14:45 -0500

If you enjoy the circus, then this presidential campaign is for you.

In the last nine months, we’ve witnessed the unlikely rise of not one, but two dark horse candidates to the top of the polls and we’ve also had the pleasure of looking on as a dizzying array of GOP candidates engaged in a series of soapbox free-for-all debates that at times devolved into pure comedy.

Bernie Sanders, a far-left socialist running on a platform that includes such pipe dreams as free college for everyone, has emerged as a real threat Hillary Clinton on the Democratic ticket.

On the Republican side, Donald Trump has managed to pull off an unlikely transition from the boardroom to the ballot box, on the way to whipping large swaths of the electorate into a nationalistic frenzy.

Meanwhile, Clinton is under investigation for possibly throwing around state secrets on a private e-mail server and Ted Cruz may not even be eligible to hold office.

Well just in case things needed to get any more entertaining, it now appears billionaire and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg is going to insert himself into the race as an independent candidate.

“Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is taking early steps toward launching an independent campaign for president, seeing a potential path to the White House amid the rise of Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Bernie Sanders,” AP reports, adding that “the billionaire media executive is said to be concerned by Trump’s lasting hold on the Republican field and is worried about the impact of Sanders’ campaign on Hillary Clinton’s bid for the Democratic nomination.”

In other words, Bloomberg is afraid that America may well end up having to choose between becoming i) a socialist “paradise” or ii) a nation run by a brazen real estate mogul with absolutely no filter and not much in the way of experience to suggest he’s fit for the job.

Apparently, Bloomberg will almost definitely run if Bernie Sanders wins the Democratic ticket and either Cruz or Trump prevails on the GOP side.

“Mike Bloomberg for president rests on the not-impossible but somewhat unlikely circumstance of either Donald Trump or Ted Cruz versus Bernie Sanders,” said Edward G. Rendell, the former governor of Pennsylvania and a past Democratic National Committee chairman. “If Hillary wins the nomination, Hillary is mainstream enough that Mike would have no chance, and Mike’s not going to go on a suicide mission.”

Underscoring our assessment of the campaign to date, The New York Times says Bloomberg “has grown more frustrated with what he sees a race gone haywire.”

“At a dinner party late last fall at the home of Roger C. Altman, an investment banker and former deputy Treasury secretary, Mr. Bloomberg delivered a piquant assessment of Mrs. Clinton as a presidential candidate,” The Times writes, adding that “in the presence of Mr. Altman, a longtime supporter of Mrs. Clinton and her husband Mr. Bloomberg described her as a flawed politician, shadowed by questions about her honesty and the continuing investigation into her email practices as secretary of state.”

“The fact is Hillary Clinton is behind in Iowa and New Hampshire. That should scare a lot of people — and it does,” one advisor said.

While commentators are so far divided on the effect a Bloomberg run would have on the Democratic and Republican tickets, one thing is certain: Hillary Clinton has the most to lose. Voters who are fervently pro-Trump or pro-Sanders probably wouldn’t be swayed. However, for voters who prefer a more “mainstream” candidate but who aren’t satisfied with Clinton, Bloomberg might well be a welcome addition to the race.

“Even a victory by Mrs. Clinton in the Democratic primaries might not preclude a bid by Mr. Bloomberg, his associates said, if he believed she had been gravely weakened by the contest,” The Times continues. Alan Patricof, a financier and longtime donor to the Clintons who is also friendly with Mr. Bloomberg says it would be “a terrible thing for the Democrats” if Bloomberg were to run as an independent.

Trump concurs. Bloomberg “would take a lot of votes away from Hillary,” he told ABC last week.

Here’s a bit more color from AP:

Bloomberg, one of the richest people in the United States, has previously toyed with presidential runs, but concluded ahead of the 2008 and 2012 campaigns he could not win.

The former mayor is largely a social liberal — he fought for same-sex marriage in New York and is pro-abortion rights — and implemented a number of health reforms in New York City, banning smoking in public places and instituting calorie counts on menus.

He has also become arguably the nation’s most vocal proponent of gun control, using his fortune to bankroll candidates across the country who clash with the National Rifle Association.

But liberals have found fault with his cozy ties to Wall Street and his unquestioned support for the New York Police Department, which drove down crime during his tenure but engaged in tactics that a federal judge later ruled discriminated against minorities.

And from The Times:

Mr. Bloomberg, 73, has already taken concrete steps toward a possible campaign, and has indicated to friends and allies that he would be willing to spend at least $1 billion of his fortune on it, according to people briefed on his deliberations who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss his plans. He has set a deadline for making a final decision in early March, the latest point at which advisers believe Mr. Bloomberg could enter the race and still qualify to appear as an independent candidate on the ballot in all 50 states.

Mr. Bloomberg would face daunting and perhaps insurmountable obstacles in a presidential campaign: No independent candidate has ever been elected to the White House, and Mr. Bloomberg’s close Wall Street ties and liberal social views, including his strong support for abortion rights and gun control, could repel voters on the left and right.

As for how Trump would react if Bloomberg does indeed put his name in the hat, the GOP frontrunner says the former mayor is “a great guy” and a “friend.”

Check back in March to see how quickly that rhetoric dries up if Bloomberg becomes the second billionaire vying for America’s top elected office.

Apparently, Bloomberg is already polling fifth…