In the many months since we began our efforts to Draft Mike Bloomberg, it has been an honor and a pleasure to volunteer with you all. In today’s New York Times, Mike Bloomberg has firmly and finally put an end to the notion that he may be drafted to run for the Presidency in 2008. In his closing statement he said;

“In the weeks and months ahead, I will continue to work to steer the national conversation away from partisanship and toward unity; away from ideology and toward common sense; away from sound bites and toward substance. And while I have always said I am not running for president, the race is too important to sit on the sidelines, and so I have changed my mind in one area. If a candidate takes an independent, nonpartisan approach — and embraces practical solutions that challenge party orthodoxy — I’ll join others in helping that candidate win the White House.”

So there you have it. Will John McCain be this independent candidate? What about Barack Obama, will he beat out Hillary Clinton in the primary or will the Super Delegates decide at the Denver convention? Will either of these or any other Democratic candidate emerge and embrace this “independent, nonpartisan approach”? Quite frankly - I do not know.

What I do know is that since this project began we have collected 2064 signature through one site and 587 signatures through another. We have researched, written, advocated for and helped organize the grassroots foundations for a Mike Bloomberg run. Our efforts even appeared in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, LA Times, ABC news, and international press. More importantly, our story was told by smaller papers like the New York Observer and Norman Transcript - by reporters like Azi Paybarah and Julianna Parker - who managed to focus on the human aspect of the Draft efforts, something which the larger papers simply glossed over.

I would like to thank every member of the community, especially at RunMikeBloomberg.com, DraftBloomberg.com, RunMikeRun.com, and all of those who helped highlight the need for a Mike Bloomberg presidential run - including the pro-Mike Bloomberg Vloggers.

I would especially like to thank Michael White, Greg Paoli, Jeff Ingalls, Dave Wakeman, John Milligan, Kevin Moore, Phil Wray, Alex Innes, BL Ochman, Karin Gallet, Matt Guercio - and others. Finally, I would like to thank my good friend Citizen Ben, whose efforts and advice were invaluable toward achieving our many successes.

Personally, this whole experience has left me with the unmistakable impression that if we the people truly want to take our nation back, all we must do is unite and refuse to accept single minded partisan bickering where as what we want is result oriented nonpartisan leadership. I look forward to the future and I look forward to working with you all again.

Regards.

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• Bloomberg: I’m Not Running For President, NYC’s Billionaire Mayor Says He May Support Candidate Who Takes “Nonpartisan Approach” - CBS News -
• I?m Not Running for President, but … - New York Times -
• News & Broadcast - Bloomberg Ties Globalization to New York City?s Success -
• NY1: Politics -
• Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg Addresses World Bank Employees On “Building Better Cities: New York’s Experience In Urban Transformation” At World Bank Urban Sector Day | Mike Bloomberg -

See UniteForMike’s delicious profile for more.

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This is very much like the situation our country faced in 1976. A decent, inspirational “feel-good” Democrat ran against the corruption of the previous 8 years (even though Ford was prez; Carter campaigned against Nixon), and people didn’t want to ask tough questions. They just wanted hope. They just wanted an end to corruption, as well as the hangover from Vietnam.

Today–as then– we are facing an ugly point in the world economic cycle, that will make this inspirational leader a one-termer, with no honeymoon. Scarcity in basic commodities leading to hyper-inflation, the unwinding of sub-prime, and a nasty consumer-led recession. Mr. Obama doesn’t even understand that tax increases in the midst of a recession are a recipe for disaster (Econ 101-102). In one of the debates, it was evident that he doesn’t even understand the difference between the Fed Funds Rate and the Discount Rate.

So, no, I don’t see Mayor Bloomberg as a VP or in a Cabinet Position, where he has to deal with eggheads from academia who don’t understand how the REAL financial sector works. We need Michael Bloomberg as the next President of the United States. I’m not saying he’ll have all the answers, but at least this country will have a fighting chance.

So, I ask you - what do you think? Should it be Bloomberg or Obama for President (and I am not bringing up McCain at this time)?

What are you waiting for?

Sign the petition by clicking here: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/draft_bloomberg

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• Bloomberg Claims Election Fraud In New York City Primary | February 21, 2008 | AHN -
• Michael Bloomberg named Commencement speaker - News -
• Are Obama and Michael Bloomberg Secretly Planning a Third Party Candidacy? « Wake Up America -
• Friends: Philanthropy not for Bloomberg - UPI.com -

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Consider this article from Political Lore:

There is no doubt that Mayor Michael Bloomberg would be a formidable candidate, however some political pundits are currently making the argument that if the race becomes McCain versus Obama they will win the votes of all independent and moderate voters in the center, leaving no room for Michael Bloomberg independent Presidential run. However as the nation’s economy continues to gain prominence and coverage of the Iraq occupation continues to dwindle, my feeling is that the door remains open for Bloomberg.

Now, the main reasons I support Mike are his managerial skills, his understanding of business and the economy and his “get-it-done” attitude.  With the race becoming more and more about McCain and his “I’ll-read-up-on-the-economy-with-Alan-Greenspan’s-book” take and Obama’s relative management inexperience and Billary’s “35-years-of-change” line, I am sorry - I am for Mike for accomplishing what I know is coming - a person who will help us handle the right decisions when it comes to addressing the future economic issues.

I keep thinking about what he recently said about how the US finances are similar to a third-world country.  This scares me.  The last time i heard something like this was when a banker friend of mine said, if the world knew how we were “balancing our books”, they would realize we had more in common with Argentina and their crisis.

I am sorry - but this makes me concerned.

So, if Obama wins the nomination - then I assume Bloomberg will not throw his hat in the ring, but will work with Obama to resolve these issues (Secretary of the Treasury Bloomberg?).  Or, if Hillary gets the nod, then I could see an incredibly powerful ticket with Bloomberg and Obama, where Obama gets the Democrats who are dissatisfied with the Democratic party for brokering a convention and Bloomberg pulls in the Republicans who are tired of the standard spend-and-spend Republicans that want McCain in office.

Hmmmm.  This could be interesting.

What do you think?  Do you want Mike to Run for President?  Sign the petition and tell us why!

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• Bloomberg: NYC won’t enforce electronics recycling law — Newsday.com -
• Is There Still Room for Bloomberg? | PoliticalLore.com -
• Bloomberg blasts federal government rebate program — Newsday.com -
• 3rd graders give wishes to Mayor Michael Bloomberg for 66th birthday -
• New York’s Mayor Bloomberg joins NRA - UPI.com -

See UniteForMike’s delicious profile for more.

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• Mayor Bloomberg Unveils Citywide Performance Reporting (CPR) | Mike Bloomberg -
• A Bloomberg ‘08 Supporter Thinks There’s Still Lots of Time | The New York Observer -
• Bloomberg slams US energy law over corn ethanol -
• wcbstv.com - Bloomberg Rips Into Candidates Over Global Warming -

See UniteForMike’s delicious profile for more.

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More than likely, you noticed a bit of the changes on the site - been a bit of time coming, with the issues of a new team arising, members switching, etcetera.  But, we have launched it - to help you to be proactive in helping to bring Mike to the campaign trail.

To that end, we should thank

• Chris Grayson, the man behind RunMikeRun, who gave some great ideas and guidance in delivering the look of the header and other elements,
• Citizen Greg for his hard work on the Bloomberg profile,
• Citizen Smith (Andrew) for his hard work on the Meetup and Signature pages,
• Greg Narian from BlueWhaleLabs for his contribution on the search for good icons for the different actions, and
• Tony Bacigalupo from CooperBricolage for his feedback and insights.

We plan on collecting the signatures and delivering them to both the Bloomberg campaign (once it officially starts) and to the DraftBloomberg.com group (for their efforts for Mike).

All you need to do is sign the petition and tell us WHY MIKE?  People are coming to the table and asking the question: especially with the whittling down of the field.  Remember that this is an election for the ages, and Mike is looking for your feedback to make the decision.

Tell him why at http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/draft_bloomberg

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Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

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• Column: Swooning for Michael Bloomberg - Editorial -
• Mike’s one ‘L’ of a candidate -
• The Associated Press: Analysis: Silence Is Bloomberg Trademark -
• Bloomberg on Real Estate Campaign Cash: ?A Disgrace? | The New York Observer -
• Paln in Place in Case Mayor Decides to Run for President -

See UniteForMike’s delicious profile for more.

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