Bloomberg-Scarborough 2012?

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New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and MSNBC's morning talk-show host Joe Scarborough have begun trying to figure out whether they could be an independent presidential ticket in 2012.

...

The two are friends and, in both public and private, mutual admirers. They spent the day after the midterm elections complimenting each other at a Harvard symposium -- Vanity Fair was there to document it all for a spring issue -- bemoaning the same political rift they may try to exploit to win the White House.

Well-placed sources tell The Huffington Post that the mayor and the host have talked about running together, with Bloomberg in the top spot. In an interview, Scarborough, a former GOP congressman from Florida, issued a firm yet carefully-worded denial. "We haven't discussed it directly," he said, adding, "Have people discussed it in his sphere and in my sphere? I think so."

Bloomberg's chief political lieutenant, Kevin Sheekey, did not respond to repeated requests for comment.

On "Morning Joe," Scarborough has repeatedly praised the mayor and talked up the likelihood -- and the necessity -- of an independent presidential bid by someone, even if it isn't going to be Bloomberg leading it.

It can get effusive. "I don't know anybody who has seen what Bloomberg's done for this city," the host said on his morning program in October, "who would not say that he is one of the best administrators we have had in American politics in quite some time."

...

While no one in Manhattan doubts that Bloomberg wants to be president, the consensus among his friends and confidants is that several things have to happen between now and next fall to move him to declare.

The already-bitter partisan divide in Congress has to widen; the Republican Party has to become a subsidiary of the tea party; the Democrats must become a rump parliament of liberals; the tone of politics must get even nastier, Jon Stewart notwithstanding; and the economy has to remain enfeebled.

It doesn't take a political rocket scientist to see that this isn't a far-fetched scenario, but timing is everything.

"My gut is that it is going to get more polarized," said former GOP Rep. Tom Davis, a Virginia moderate, Bloomberg acolyte and one of the brainiest and best strategists of his generation. "And if it does get more polarized, the situation is made for a 'fixer' -- and that's Mike."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/16/bloomberg-scarborough-2012-president_n_784593.html

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

That sounds pretty attractive.

[Mnemosyne 4]

Bloomberg keeps fixing his eyes on politics. If I had his money and age, I wouldn't look for problems. He can exhaust his riches and still not become a US president. Once a republican, always repugnant.

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That sounds pretty attractive.

Yeah Bloomberg > Obama but Biden > Scarborough

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He can exhaust his riches and still not become a US president.

A viable Bloomberg candidacy in the first Presidential election after Citizens United would be quite the statement.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Yeah Bloomberg > Obama but Biden > Scarborough

I like Scarborough. Not sure he's got the credentials for VP spot but then there are enough crazies out there thinking Palin's got president potential.

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I like Scarborough.

I'm ambivalent about Scarborough but I do like Bloomberg.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

I'm ambivalent about Scarborough but I do like Bloomberg.

For all I know about him, he comes across as a common sense kind of guy. He doesn't seem to be indebted to any ideology. Much like Bloomberg, really.

[scandal 951]

several things have to happen between now and next fall to move him to declare.

The already-bitter partisan divide in Congress has to widen; the Republican Party has to become a subsidiary of the tea party; the Democrats must become a rump parliament of liberals; the tone of politics must get even nastier, Jon Stewart notwithstanding; and the economy has to remain enfeebled.

Sounds like pretty much a sure-thing, then

I like the idea of a Bloomberg candidacy. But independent centrist moderate candidates are a real long shot in America. John Anderson in 1980 comes to mind.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Sounds like pretty much a sure-thing, then

I like the idea of a Bloomberg candidacy. But independent centrist moderate candidates are a real long shot in America. John Anderson in 1980 comes to mind.

Joe said NO.

[scandal 951]

Joe said NO.

Joe WHO?

(for Canadians out there, there is of course only one Joe Who.... i.e. Joe Clark).

I don't give a ** about Scarborough, he's just a talking head. Bloomberg on the other hand is a serious guy with real policy credentials.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Joe WHO?

Look at the thread title - it hints at who we're talking about here. Now, Bloomberg's name ain't Joe. That doesn't leave a lot of Joe's, does it?

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Big Dog - quit being such a #######

[scandal 951]

Look at the thread title - it hints at who we're talking about here. Now, Bloomberg's name ain't Joe. That doesn't leave a lot of Joe's, does it?

I don't give a ** about Scarborough, he's just a talking head. Bloomberg on the other hand is a serious guy with real policy credentials.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

Thanks for sharing this pic of you reading the paper. It's past your bedtime now.