Black Box Report

I really don't know how much more of this I can take. As if we didn't already have a cast of thousands running for president, and each one of them took - or in some cases are still taking - their sweet time in declaring their candidacy. Now we get NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg insisting he's not running for president, while telling LA's political and media elite what a good independent presidential candidate should do, if only there were one around somewhere:

The latest "it" non-candidate, Bloomberg has enjoyed a week of great attention, sharing the cover of Time with Arnold Schwarzenegger, appearing on talk shows, playing the political guessing game. He also had little good to say about the 2008 process too far, saying that candidates offer simplistic solutions...

Most of all, he warned against excessive party ideologues..."It all begins with independence," he said.

Independence. As in "independent candidate". Or better yet, as in the "Independence Party":

On Friday, a group of volunteers will circulate petitions to draft Michael Bloomberg to run for president, which will be a rare tangible (if unauthorized) sign of the mayor's hypothetical candidacy. The petition effort is being organized by Independence Party activist Frank Morano...

At the Huffington Post, Fred Siegel calls this the best non-campaign campaign ever:

Michael Bloomberg is still not running for president. It's true that he's on his way up to New Hampshire and it's true that he's visited 20 cities in the last 18 months. It's true that New York, a famed agricultural center is hosting, thanks to the mayor, this year's Farm Aid Concert, and yes, of course he's engaged in a number of high-profile initiatives with national implications calling for fewer guns and less pollution. But that's just because he's "Manager Mike," Time magazine's action hero stepping in, like Arnold Schwarzenegger, to succeed on issues like illegal guns and global warming where the federal government has failed...But whatever else he is, Bloomberg is a marketing genius. He's managed to run a presidential campaign...without arousing the slightest bit of skepticism from the argus-eyed national press. That's well-endowed talent.

So for now, Bloomy gets to have his cake and eat it too. Just like Fred Thompson, only without the added pressure of being expected to save an entire political party from self-destruction. But even in this Longest Campaign Cycle EVER, you can only pull this act for so long:

For all of this tough talk, he's an empty suit until he can offer up some substantive ideas to solve these issues. So what do you say Mike? You gonna be an empty suit or you gonna join the game?

Stop teasing, Mike. Either get in for real, or never darken my blogger doorway again. Harrrumph.