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Henican: Obama, Bloomberg shine but no endorsement

Ellis Henican

March 28, 2008

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Which color are you?

In Red and Blue America, you'd think that lots of people would actually be closer to purple, tilting Republican on certain issues, Democratic on others. And you'd be right.

But that sensible instinct rarely applies to those who live in the Land of Politics.

Among that special class of people who clog the public payrolls, run for higher office and crave political power the way that Rush once craved OxyContin, it's always one team or the other. You take your pick, and you make your bed!

Ellis Henican Bio | E-mail | Recent columns

So in a big campaign like this one, it's a foregone conclusion who almost all the politicians will endorse. The Dems go Dem, the Repubs go Repub - and really, how boring is that?

Which is why in the Great Hall of The Cooper Union in Greenwich Village yesterday, there was some genuine drama in the air.

No one could say for certain whom Mike Bloomberg will endorse for president. Yes, only an ex-Democrat, ex-Republican Independent like the New York mayor could turn a decision like this one into a big, fat question mark.

Flanked by the usual armada of American flags, he and Barack Obama were like a couple of teenagers riding in the backseat to the prom - trying out their own clumsy moves.

"I have not endorsed a candidate for president," said a coy-sounding Bloomberg, one of the few important office holders anywhere who isn't officially red or blue.

Obama, for his part, kept using phrases calculated to seal some kind of going-steady pact with the mayor.

"Extend a hand." "Economic stimulus." "A shift in the cultures."

You go, you Barack-star you!

"Mister Mayor," the youthful Illinois senator said with his famous warm inflection. "I share your determination to bring this country together to finally make progress for the American people."

OK, so the comment didn't really mean that much. But did he ever say it nicely!

Bloomberg can't give an answer, not 'til Hillary Clinton is safely out of the way. New York mayors dare not alienate New York senators, not with so many billions of federal aid at stake.

But all the signs were positive yesterday. Despite the dreary chill outside, the Great Hall was almost steamy. And the Barack-and-Mike banter positively sparkled.

Bloomberg joked that Obama had picked up the tab when they'd met for breakfast late last year in Manhattan. Obama answered that the pre-emptive check-grab was just his way of being financially strategic.

"I have to tell you," he said, "the reason I bought breakfast is because I expect payback with something more expensive."

Something like, say, a Mike Bloomberg endorsement, complete with the kind of financial boost that only a billionaire can deliver?

Well, not quite.

"I'm no dummy," the Illinois senator deadpanned. "There's some good steakhouses here in New York."

It was all very hearty, these two chummy guys being guys together. The easy repartee even caused some fertile minds to wander.

Why not an Obama-Bloomberg ticket for 2008?

"Obama will need a dynamic, experienced executive as his running mate to convince general-election voters of his substance and ability," said the Hot Air political blog, fanning the team-up talk yesterday. "Bloomberg has made no secret of his ambitions, and having put aside the presidency, may see a VP run as an entree to something bigger down the road."

But hold on a second there! Truly, this makes no sense!

Bloomberg already abandoned his own run for president. And Obama, in a race against John McCain, will already have New York in the bag.

In what other states could a short, Jewish, party-hopping billionaire New York mayor make a crucial difference for the Democrat?

While you're trying to think of one, just take the moment for what it was worth.

A couple of purple pols trying to close the deal.