Nov 30, 2007 7:00 am US/Eastern
Obama, Bloomberg To Hold Mystery Breakfast Meeting
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Democratic presidential candidate hopeful Barack Obama addresses a campaign rally at Washington Square Park in New York on Sept. 27, 2007.
Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images
It's a mystery meeting that's sure to have the Clinton camp concerned - New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg will have coffee Friday morning with Clinton's main opponent for the Democratic presidential nomination: Barack Obama, reports CBS station WCBS-TV in New York.
Bloomberg has vowed to keep out of the presidential race, but he can't seem to stay away from it. Obama and Bloomberg will meet on a coffee date, scheduled because of their mutual interest.
Thursday night, Obama made his first trip to Harlem as a presidential candidate, and the Apollo Theater was a packed with a sold-out crowd paying $50 each to see him.
Before his visit to the Apollo, Obama paid his respects to one of Harlem's top powerbrokers, the Rev. Al Sharpton, who says he hasn't decided who he is supporting.
Still, the meeting sent a warning to Hillary Clinton that Harlem could be up for grabs.
Local African American voters explained why they support Obama. "I trust him," said Harlem resident Angela Dews. "Hilary is slick. Democrats are taking us for granted."
At the Apollo, Obama made a veiled reference to a new Hillary Clinton biography which claims the Clintons had a "secret pact of ambition" to both win the presidency.
"I'm not running because I'm trying to fulfill some long-held plans. I'm not running because I think this is something owed to me," Obama said.
By meeting with Obama this morning, Bloomberg is doing what he said he would do while not running for president and dropping his Republican party affiliation - he is injecting himself into the national dialogue to try to influence the debate.
"I am going to speak out on those issues," Bloomberg said in June. "By not being affiliated with a party I think I'm going to have a better opportunity to do that."
Earlier this week, Bloomberg dined with Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, so today's mysterious photo-op with the Democrat Obama may be his way of showing how non-partisan he is in the presidential race.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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