-
Dec 8, 2007 6:11 am US/Eastern
-
Digg |
Facebook |
E-mail
|
Print
Clinton Praises Bloomberg, Hopes He Doesn't Run
Former President Doesn't Want Mayor-Hillary Matchup
NEW YORK (CBS/AP) ―
Former President Clinton likes Mayor Michael Bloomberg so much that he hopes the billionaire doesn't run for president against his wife, he said Friday.
"He's been a really good mayor," Clinton said.
"What he does with the rest of his life, you know, he'll have to decide," he added. "I have the highest regard for him -- obviously, I hope they never wind up being opponents just because I like him so much."
New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is furiously competing for the Democratic nomination. Meanwhile, Bloomberg vows to complete his second term that ends in 2009, and repeatedly says he has no interest in running for president.
But Bloomberg left the Republican party earlier this year and became an independent, furthering speculation that he will finance his own campaign in 2008 after front-runners emerge in the two major parties.
He has also been traveling more frequently across the country and around the world, speaking out against partisan politics and offering his ideas on campaign issues like education and climate change.
On Friday, he was with Clinton in the Bronx to talk about energy efficiency in public housing.
Clinton, in his speech, praised the mayor for his sustainability initiatives in New York, and said no other city has a better plan to address the issue.
Afterward, he spoke briefly with reporters about Bloomberg, and was asked if he thought there is room for an independent candidate in the race.
"No one ever knows the answers to any of those questions until it happens," he said.
WCBSTV.com's Most Popular Pages
Slideshow: World's Most Bizarre Deaths
Slideshow: 100 Greatest Movies Of All Time
Slideshow: The Coolest Fighter Jets…Ever!
Slideshow: Lindsay Lohan Grows Up, Or Does She?
Slideshow: Celebrity Sex Tapes Revealed
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)