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New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg left the Republican Party on Tuesday and switched to unaffiliated, a move certain to be seen as a prelude to an independent presidential bid that would upend the 2008 race.
Paris Hilton Of Politics Leaves Party Early
Seeded on Tue Jun 19, 2007 10:57 PM EDT
Article Source: msnbc.com- Enjoy this article? Help vote it up the 'Vine.
- Public Discussion (29)
It's no secret that I want this man to run, but this hide-and-seek thing is going a bit far.
Clearly, he's running. Let's just hear it and move on! (With or without him.)
- 4 votes
#1 - Tue Jun 19, 2007 11:07 PM EDTAgreed. The charade is going a bit far and I'm starting to feel like a fool for following this saga.
- 2 votes
Let's just hear it and move on! (With or without him.)
where would you be, exactly, without him don't you need his billion dollars
- 4 votes
Bain that's pretty cynical. I don't think the groundswell surrounding an independent candidacy in '08 is about Bloomberg's money. The money is serendipitous, it's true, because it allows him to enter the race late -- without having to raise a lot of money and without being beholden to special interests. But I think the excitement comes from him being so independent.
Which, I think, he just proved -- by leaving the GOP.
- 11 votes
The charade is going a bit far and I'm starting to feel like a fool for following this saga.
C'mon, guys! He's having some fun!
- 2 votes
I don't think the groundswell surrounding an independent candidacy in '08 is about Bloomberg's money.
It sure helps, though. And I have to ask if he'd be running New York as well as he is if he hadn't self-financed. Being beholden to no one -- that's what his money has bought.
Let's face it: Money gets you into office. With most candidates, it comes from lobbying groups. With Bloomberg, it comes from his hard work.
A poor man will never get elected in this country without selling his soul.
- 2 votes
The charade is going a bit far and I'm starting to feel like a fool for following this saga.
The election is still a year and a half away, and while I understand that a lot of people want to hurry up on getting Bush out of office, these campaigns that get longer and longer every year are not good for our democracy. They severely exacerbate the need for candidates to have financial backing so that money distorts our politics ever more grossly.
- 1 vote
Give him a break. As a theoretically sane man, he's not going to enter until he knows who the other nominees are. And as a theoretically sane man, he can't exercise any decision unless he's on 50 ballots ... which he has to start laying the groundwork for now. Shouldn't we respect someone who keeps his options open?
- 8 votes
#2 - Tue Jun 19, 2007 11:24 PM EDTI thought this guy might be able to reinvent politics. He doesn't have to raise money, so he can speak his mind. He hates the 2-party system. He's really liberal but conservative when it comes to money, which he's proved that he can handle in private life and NYC . He's pro-gay, which is important to me.
But I am also a bit unnerved that he can't just step up to the plate and say that he's going to run. Stepping up to the plate is what I thought he did best.
- 3 votes
#3 - Tue Jun 19, 2007 11:46 PM EDTHe IS stepping up to the plate, rightofkhan. He's just doing it smarter. The only reason to announce now would be to raise money.
Uh, he doesn't need it.
- 3 votes
The seed is good but I don't like the headline - it implies that Bloomberg's candidacy is frivolous because he's independently wealthy.
Here's another seed if you want to try a more objective discussion on this topic.
- 6 votes
#4 - Tue Jun 19, 2007 11:47 PM EDTjblossom, you somehow missed the memo ... bloomberg has been called the paris hilton of politics for a while, and in the mainstream press, not because he's wealthy, but because his run for the presidency brings up as much speculation as paris hilton's run from the law. it's a common phrase applied to him and it has nothing to do with wealth. i understand your objection but it has nothing to do with the objectivity of this thread.
- 5 votes
The seed is good but I don't like the headline - it implies that Bloomberg's candidacy is frivolous because he's independently wealthy.
jblossom I'm all about taking '08 seriously but it's early enough that we can still have some fun, no?
- 4 votes
OK, so I need to get a life sometimes...point taken.
Still, it seems to me that this Paris Hilton meme is meant to stick like "Al Gore invented the Internet" or "Frenchie Kerry."
That said, time for some sleep...
- 5 votes
There really wasn't a reason to change MSNBC's headline other than to generate more page views.
I don't think the story even needs a sensational headline to get page views. Bloomberg should've been a playwright. He knows how to build suspense and then deliver a doozie of a plot twist.
- 4 votes
Hi Folks -
I want to apologize for changing the title of this article. As one poster pointed out, "The Paris Hilton of Politics" is a moniker that reporters have given Mr. Bloomberg. I didn't make it up. And it just seemed more applicable than ever. I didn't mean to mislead anyone.
I would change the title of this seed, but then this thread would make no sense and the posters would look bad. I think that would be worse than than changing the title in the first place.
Anyway, thank you for the comments and please, if you feel mislead, accept my apology.
A.K.
- 1 vote
You could add something to the seed description about the title change using an <ins> tag, or just post something in this thread mentioning the change. That's usually the accepted practice when changing the title.
- 1 vote
Agreed. The headline is, well, weird.
Mike B. = Paris H. Wha?
Please explain AKTYLOR
- 1 vote
Please explain AKTYLOR
I didn't make this up. He's called this by local NYC press and was called this by Time Magazine. It's doesn't mean that he's a spoiled rich kid, it means that he's getting a lot of public attention and the media is glued to him -- not for doing something but for potentially doing something. Paris Hilton just goes to parties and yet the media follows her around like a movie star in case she does something crazy. Bloomberg is not running for president but everbody is talking about as a candidate. He dropped out of the GOP, which in itself means nothing, but it was the lead story on the morning news shows the next day.
I hope this helps explain where the term comes from.
- 1 vote
On WNYC a caller just speculated that Bloomberg wants Spitzer to appoint him to Hillary's Senate seat after she wins the election.
The man has his sights set much higher than that, I think.
:)
- 3 votes
#5 - Wed Jun 20, 2007 10:18 AM EDTI think that both Fred Thompson and Michael Bloomberg -- the two "non candidates" -- are making fun of the American people and the election process. They're clearly running. So either get in the race or stop taking attention away from the people who are sticking to the rules.
- 1 vote
#6 - Wed Jun 20, 2007 10:58 AM EDTThey're all just playing the media. Some better than others. Personally, I have more respect for Thompson and Bloomberg because they're showing they can think out of the box. Bloomberg's gotten as much attention for $0 as Clinton and Obama have gotten for $50 million. Who would you rather have signing the Federal Budget?
(And I'm a die-hard Democrat)
- 4 votes
Smoking Gum: He's been slowly building his national reputation for months now, traveling, taking on national issues, criticizing Washington... Now that everyone knows who he is, he creates a sensation by leaving the Republican party.
He's running. Of course he's running. But why announce? He's not running in any of the primaries -- and even those are six months away.
Sheesh!
- 3 votes
There's a saying on Wall Street: buy on the rumor, sell on the fact. It's in Bloomberg's interest to play this out.
I can understand him saying that he's not running for President all the time - officially, he's not. But what concerns me is that he keeps saying that he's going to finish out his term as mayor. If he were elected president, then he would begin his term on the heels of breaking his pledge.
- 2 votes
#7 - Wed Jun 20, 2007 1:33 PM EDTIf he were elected president, then he would begin his term on the heels of breaking his pledge.
Well, he wouldn't be the first.
- 2 votes
Self-made millionaire vs. spoiled socialite that merely earned her riches through birth?
I don't like Mayor Mike, but that's no comparison.
He announced now to hopefully begin to split votes from Democratic N.Y. (ala Ralph Nader) and not be late enough to be accused of it.
- 1 vote
#8 - Wed Jun 20, 2007 1:40 PM EDTFrom the polls I've seen, in a 3-way race with Clinton, Giuliani and Bloomberg, Bloomberg consistently takes more votes away from Giuliani than from Clinton.
- 2 votes
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