Ivana Atmojo

I was queeing to pay for my books in an airport’s bookshop when I came across this Newsweek edition featuring Mike Bloomberg. Having been a Bloomberg supporter that I am, naturally I grabbed one copy as fast as I could, while smiling & looking like a dumb piglet

I’m sure he is no stranger to you all….you might know him as the founder of the BLOOMBERG LP we know today, or as the mayor of New York, or both. But just to make sure that everyone is on the same ground, I’m going to write a wee bit of summary about him. Other than being a billionaire who’s built his own empire since 1981 (his estimated worth is $13 billion), he’s also known as this great-hearted philanthropist who has dedicated both his time and resources to numerous charitable, cultural, and educational institutions.

In 2001, he was elected as the Mayor of City of New York, also gaining support from his predecessor Rudy Giuliani. It was a critical point for the city at that time, having been hit by the 9/11 trauma. Many was in doubt, but Bloomberg with his forward-looking agenda & competent leadership led the people and the city out of the difficult time. In 2005, he was re-elected by the broadest & most diverse coalition in the history of New York city. Now with all the bold & smart decisions he’s taken to deliver, he’s become somewhat as popular as a rock-star mayor. He’s made all the necessary changes in education, public health (banning smoking & banning the use trans fat in restaurants to overcome obesity), job creation, illegal guns, housing (he took a bold action of raising property taxes), and many others. Today the graduation rates are at the highest levels in two decades; unemployment rate is reduced significantly to a low 4.3%—the lowest since 1976; a transformation of the city’s record deficits to surpluses & tax cuts & highest bond ratings; more effective control of NY polution and traffic; New York has become a safer & better place; and the list of the positive changes he’s brought to New York could really still go on. Hmmm…..What else would we be interested to know? Ah yes, he’s Pro-Choice & he’s NOT against gay marriages.

Now, rumours have said about Bloomberg’s possible presidential bid in 2008, and it’s a subject in a lot of people’s minds—including the incumbents. Earlier this year, he announced that he was leaving the Republican Party to become an independent. At that time, President Bush gestured to Marine One (the aircraft carrying the president of the USA) and told Bloomberg : “That bird could be yours.” Now exactly a year before the 2008 presidential election, Bloomberg is a billionaire wild card who has the means to make one of the most significant third-party bids for the White house in American History (right now one can only imagine what a billion dollar-campaign can do) . With his strong resume in the public sector & his obviously limitless ambition, he certainly is a prominent threat to the existing traditional party nominees.

The decision as to whether or not Bloomberg will run for presidential candidate will come after March 5, the day after the Texas Primary. Bloomberg will not run unless he’s convinced that winning the necessary 270 electoral votes is not only possible, but likely. He does not want to be a vanity candidate, nor a spoiler. So if he runs, he will run to win.

So then, we’ll wait and see if he’ll decide to go for the presidential bid. Given the choice of Rudy Giuliani, Hillary Clinton, or Mike Bloomberg…You know whom I’ll vote for!
(now now…if only I have the right to vote, hehehe )

I read: Newsweek, 12 November 2007, pg. 18-26