Politics

Obama-Bloomberg

By Matt Cooper

I asked back in January about an Obama-Bloomberg ticket. After Bloomberg introduced Obama at his Cooper Union speech this morning, I think it's worth asking again. I still think there's a certain logic to it. For Obama, you get to make the bipartisan thing real by picking an independent Mayor. You get $1 billion at least in extra campaign cash which can't hurt. You get some economic cred. You bring the wavering Jewish vote back into the fold. Great for Black-Jewish relations!

Downsides: Can Bloomberg sublimate his ego to be the Number Two or does he try and pull a Cheney and run things? Does a WASP-free ticket play in Peoria? Does Bloomberg's anti-gun, anti-transfat, anti-smoking positions give McCain a leg up in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania where white, working class voters will be key? Could Bloomberg get through the personal and financial vetting? How would you like to play accountant on that one? And what would it mean to have a member of the superrich on the ticket? We've never had a Rockefeller or Carnegie be their party's nominee for president. It might be too much. I have a Secret Service codename if he is the veep: Money.

Full post as published by Portfolio.com: Capital on March 27, 2008 (boomark / email).