Bloomberg '08 - Why and How

This should have been so easy... The GOP is a mess and Dem-control of Congress remarkably effective, initially and compared to the corrupt prior, so you'd think that a Dem '08 Presidency was all but a given.

And, after watching multiple GOP prez candidates raise their hands to show their disbelief in evolution (me, I don't believe in aging) it seemed assured (however unnerving). But, weeks before, watching multiple Dem prez candidates stumble all over each other about Iraq - and Hillary now trying to cast a new vote on the war that she initially and zealously supported - it has become abundantly clear that a 3rd party is necessary.

Our country is split - not akin to the Civil War but close - and divisive issues like abortion and those fabulous unions of same-sex individuals simply aren't bringing adequate outrage from the masses (Karl Rove is obviously too busy deleting emails while the dozens of Rovian clones in the Dem ranks too busy raising money from the next Jack Abramoff) while the war is the hangover we're all trying to treat even as Bush et al keep offering us more shots.

They will split - the GOP and Dems - and a scant 37% showing by a third-party could take the presidency. So who will do so?

Michael Bloomberg, current mayor of NYC, the most brave leader in America and least beholden politician since Teddy Roosevelt. $5 billion in the bank, Mike is taking on guns - with the backing of 200+ other mayors around the country - and yet another GOP heretic who favors choice and actually believes in evolution.

He took on the Pope (the man who faced a run-off vote at the Vatican to be God's voice on earth) by giving away condoms to stem AIDS; he's released what is perhaps the only long-term plan for development and environmental controls in the country; oh, and he's a Rudy-killer - Bloomberg rebuilt NYC after 9-11, not Guiliani.

But he's got ghosts, thanks to the GOP - The RNC (Republican National Convention) in 2004 was a nightmare - thousands arrested and held without charges for the duration, as well as a highly dubious pre-conventional snooping on innocent groups. This is also his strength - He can disown the GOP in one fell swoop by saying it all to protect us. Sound familiar? When in doubt, cite protection and terrorists - Bloomberg publicly balked at Homeland Security cuts for NYC and has continually demanded screening of shipping containers - Oh, and he seems to understand the economic importance of immigrants, illegal or pending...

Pluses and minuses, Bloomberg is easily the best candidate. Will he run? Why would he bother saying yet? With states pushing-up their primaries to, well, tomorrow, we'll know by early '08. By then Hillary will have the nod from the Dems, however closely followed by Obama, and either Mitt or Rudy will be leading the GOP. Sadly, McCain is now a Shakespearian tragedy.

Bloomberg/Bill Richardson may be the most experienced and proven ticket in decades.

Gore/Bloomberg? Doubt it - both would want to lead but a mixed ticket would be the salve we all need right now.

Bloomberg/Obama? If Obama has the guts we all hope for but have yet to hear, could he too disown the party that won't pick him? Obama needs experience - Bloomberg needs no one.

Will America elect a Jew? Will you?

Post 9-11 we all looked to NYC - and the Bush/Cheney Admin used it to invade. Now, post-Bush/Cheney, look to NYC again. There's a short smart guy riding the subway to work; he's got billions and long-term plans.

Me, I like Mike.

Libby Guilty; Cheney clots; Rove plots; Dems bicker

After a week of deliberation, a jury found VP Dick Cheney's former Chief of Staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby guilty of 4 of 5 total perjury counts. Scooter now faces up to 25 years in prison, his lawyers seek another trial, and one sympathetic and exhausted juror said pointedly that Libby was a "fall guy."

Meanwhile, VP Cheney has a blood clot in his leg - probably from his impromptu Middle East trip last week and long flights - forcing everyone to gauge what pity may be conjured for the man: 4 heart attacks, innumerable human rights trampled and invasions later, is there a better time for the VP to step down? Not to be rude, but isn't Beelzebub ready to take him home yet? Or doesn't the devil want Cheney around either?

There is doubt that replacing Cheney - perhaps positioning an heir to Bush in 2008 - will do little good. Evangelist Brownback? Jaded Rudy? Who would want the VP post in this failed administration? More indictments are likely, despite Libby's prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald calling his investigation "idle" - But who other than the Attorney General can indict the Attorney General Gonzales? How much longer must we await impeachment hearings?

Don't wait on the Dems. Hillary is too busy shadowing Obama, Bill ever in tow and attack dogs ready like, well, Selma some 40 years ago... They're already attacking Gore's mansion's energy usage (a sign of how wary they are of the former VP and Oscar winner) and spending money like campaign finance reform wasn't passed just a few years ago...

This is a sorry state of the Union. It now appears that the Dems retaking the Senate and House only a few months ago has been a moot cause - All eyes on are 2008 with too few looking around and asking the obvious: Do we have that long?