Politics

Midterm Crisis: What's Next For Mayor Bloomberg?

NEW YORK (AP) ― If you believe the rumors, it's as if Mayor Michael Bloomberg is having a midterm crisis.

The billionaire businessman, who perfected the winking public denial during his White House flirtations, now smoothly performs the same dance when asked about his next job.

In the past two months, Bloomberg has been said to be eyeing a variety of career ventures: vice president, head of the World Bank, governor of New York, owner of The New York Times, president of Johns Hopkins University.

Perhaps even a third term as mayor, which would require a change in city law.

Bloomberg decided two months ago that he would not launch an independent presidential campaign -- a game that had kept him on the global stage for more than a year.

With the speculation behind him, he not only lost the national spotlight, but also took away a favorite pastime among supporters and his advisers, who liked to whisper about their boss being president one day.

And so, with more time on their hands and a mayor who risks turning into a lame duck with just 20 months left in office, they have started whispering about everything else.

The ink was barely dry on Bloomberg's February Op-Ed piece in the Times declaring he had decided not to run for the White House when the chattering started about what a wonderful running mate the Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-independent would make for all three
presidential candidates.

His answers to questions about his next job tend to resemble the way he playfully batted down suggestions of a White House bid. They usually contain a self-deprecating remark, a reference to being flattered by the rumor of the day, and some verbal jujitsu intended to make everyone think the gossip started far, far away from him and out of his control.

Consider his answers this week when he was asked about two of the most recent rumors: that he would buy the Times or could be president of Johns Hopkins University, his alma mater, to which he's given more than $100 million.

On the Times, the billionaire media mogul professed not to know where the idea started, and said that while it was flattering anyone would think he would make a good newsman, "I am not going to go into the newspaper business."

Bloomberg's wealth is estimated at more than $11 billion, a fortune he built after founding the financial information company that bears his name and that also has a financial news service.

Regarding the buzz about taking over Johns Hopkins, where a fraternity brother has reportedly circulated a letter to get the idea going, Bloomberg said his average grades in school likely keep him off the short list.
"Nobody thinks I should be president," he said.

The Times rumor, which has popped up before, surfaced again over the weekend in Newsweek magazine, a publication with whom Bloomberg and his inner circle have had a close relationship.

Last year, managing editor Jon Meacham rode on Bloomberg's private plane and wrote a flattering cover story about the billionaire's potential independent presidential campaign.

Bloomberg clearly enjoyed the attention at his regular news conference on Monday. At one point he called on a Times reporter, who had a question on another topic, and asked whether she was going to ask him about the subject of Times ownership.

These latest what-will-he-do stories come just a week after aides floated rumors that Bloomberg was considering changing the city charter to allow him to run for a third term as mayor.

And that story followed others about a possible run for governor in 2010 or being a running mate on a national ticket.

In recent weeks, he has introduced both Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama when the candidates made campaign stops in New York City. Aides to both Bloomberg and Hillary Rodham Clinton said they have been trying to find time to get the pair together as well.

Each story tends to stay alive for a few days and serves to attract reporters who might otherwise not attend Bloomberg's daily municipal announcements.

For his part, Bloomberg usually says he plans to tend to his philanthropy full time after leaving office at the end of 2009.

As his former communications adviser William Cunningham put it, "Mike Bloomberg has been successful at everything he's tried to do, so if he wants to stay in the national spotlight, he will."

(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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