Bloomberg: I’d Run As An Independent

Hizzoner knows that idle speculation about your apparent Presidential aspirations is the best way to build up the Cult of the Mayor:

After months of steadfastly dismissing rumors that he’s exploring a White House run, Mayor Bloomberg over the weekend openly mused about mounting an independent presidential candidacy.

Asked if he’s contemplating a presidential bid, Bloomberg didn’t give his usual flat-out denial.

Instead, he offered a response that is fueling speculation he may go for it in 2008: “Absolutely not. And anybody who’s running will say exactly that.”

Little did he know it (yeah, right!) but the Norwalk Hour was within earshot at the event where he said the remarks, a fundraiser for Connecticut Representative Chris Shays:

“I could never get the nomination from either party,” the mayor told some 85 Shays supporters, explaining that he’s too liberal for conservatives and too conservative for liberals.

But money wouldn’t be an issue, Bloomberg added.

The Hour reported that “in the context of a humorous anecdote,” the billionaire mayor said he’d have no problem coming up with the hundreds of millions of dollars needed to finance a third-party run.

But the mayor acknowledged that “running as an independent would be a daunting thing.”

He told the crowd he could make a move to sell his business, Bloomberg LP “in the next year or so.” Company spokeswoman Judith Czelusniak said there are no “definitive plans” to do so at this point.

Stu Loeser, the mayor’s spokesman, insisted Bloomberg’s position hasn’t changed. “He’s not running,” said Loeser.

Previously on Is the country really ready for a (Jewish-born*!) New York mayor with a really nasal accent?

*The Forward seems to argue that he’s Jewish in the tradition of Robert Moses.