Bloomberg For President? (Or VP?)

Hizzoner on the third-party tip:

Mayor Bloomberg yesterday lashed out at the “spirit of intolerance” that has fouled politics — and urged graduating University of Chicago students to become “freedom fighters” for independent political thought.

Politicians listen to pollsters too much and to their own guts too little, he said. And in his view, both Democrats and Republicans increasingly oppose ideas just because they come from the other team.

“Your mission is to fight the good fight . . . to maintain a healthy skepticism and an honest integrity, and to never let go of the American spirit of independence,” Bloomberg said.

He also attacked the Bush White House, although not by name, for “manipulating data to fit their own agendas” — discrediting global-warming theories, restricting federal funding for stem-cell research and refuting methods proven to stop AIDS.

“Independence”? “Independent”? Mmm . . .