Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Senator Barack Obama at a diner in Midtown New York
(Photo: Diane Bondareff/Associated Press)
A breakfast date between presidential hopeful Barack Obama and New York’s Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has spurned a fiery storm of speculation and ideas.
Aides in both camps said that Mayor Bloomberg requested the meeting where him and Obama discussed education, standardized testing, homeland security funds, the state of the economy and global warning. “We talked about the things that I really feel very strongly about that Washington can make a difference whether you’re president of the United States or a senator,” Mr. Bloomberg said on his weekly call-in radio show on WABC.
The billionaire, Bloomberg and Obama both agree that there’s too much game playing and not enough problem solving.
But this very public New York breakfast has many theories swirling. Some circles are saying that Independent Bloomberg is going to endorse Democratic Obama or run as VP on the Democrat’s ballot. Other circles are speculating that if Obama’s elected Bloomberg could become Treasury Secretary. People are even suggesting that if Obama doesn’t win the nomination that he and Bloomberg could run for president on the Independent ticket.
In my opinion, Obama needs someone with experience in foreign policy like Bill Richardson or Joe Biden to be his running mate. But, Bloomberg would be a great candidate for Treasury Secretary and a billionaire with major clout endorsing Obama could be a good thing.
