Jan 2, 2008 8:46 pm US/Eastern
Bloomberg's Opening Shots?
Another Sign Of Possible '08 Bid: Mayor Outlines Contenders' Shortcomings
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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If report cards were handed out, Bloomberg would apparently give an "F" to each of the presidential candidates. (File)
CBS
He's still not a 2008 candidate, but New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg sure sounded like one Wednesday, as he blasted all the White House wannabes from both parties.
If report cards were handed out, Bloomberg would apparently give an "F" to each of the presidential candidates.
"I have not heard anybody that's said what they'd really do," he said during a City Hall morning news conference Wednesday.
Settling into the role of presidential gadfly, Bloomberg appeared to single out Republican Mitt Romney for distancing himself from a law he pushed as Massachusetts governor, requiring residents to acquire health insurance or possibly face penalties.
As a presidential candidate, Romney has said he would leave it up to states to devise their own plans, and he has criticized Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton for including a mandate in her health care proposal.
Bloomberg told reporters Romney "walks away from his own plan."
Romney spokesman Kevin Madden said the assessment is "unfortunate and inaccurate."
"Governor Romney's health care accomplishment is something he speaks about regularly, and he uses its success as evidence that health care can be achieved by using a solution-oriented approach with free-market principles," Madden said
But Romney wasn't the only candidate that drew Bloomberg's ire. From foreign policy to free trade to "xenophobic" immigration plans, Bloomberg is deeply disappointed in the 2008 presidential field.
And he didn't need to name names.
In what could be a black mark for Rudy Giuliani: "How do you fight terrorism? All this, 'I'm going to be tougher than the next guy,' is not an answer," he said.
Perhaps a failing grade for Clinton too: "Others just say I'm gonna get more health care for everybody and nobody has to pay the chicken in every pot."
So why the pot shots? Experts say it's the beginning of his campaign.
"He has fired the first shot on behalf of this third party and this non-partisan movement for an independent candidate for president," said Micheline Blum, a professor at Baruch College.
Although Bloomberg continually denies he's a candidate, aides are privately ramping up a mega-campaign that will use every means possible of reaching voters no matter what the cost. Bloomberg's philosophy said an intimate is to make sure he brings a gun to a knife fight and has plenty of bullets.
That said, there has still been public denial after public denial. Yet the non-candidate maintains a private Web site with his ideas and positions, and there's still plenty of people warming to the idea of his candidacy.
"I think he has a pretty good chance because he can use his own money," said Astoria resident Alex Velasevic.
"He just gives a feeling of leadership, of confidence," added Brooklyn resident Marilyn Gaffney.
Bloomberg insiders also tell CBS 2 HD they've tentatively identified what states the mayor would need to focus on and how he could get enough votes in the electoral college.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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