New York Mayor Race: White House Didn't Want To Upset Bloomberg

NY Daily News:

Obama campaign veterans are finally admitting that President Obama's lackluster endorsement for New York Democratic mayoral candidate Bill Thompson was intended to be less than stellar.

Mayor Bloomberg "is an ally," said one Obama campaign operative who held a top position in the presidential campaign.

Read the whole story: NY Daily News

Comments

[sposton]

We wouldn't want to alienate another billionaire. If Obama actively campaigned for Thompson the poor guy would have done even worse. ;-)

[jane8877]

God forbid Obama should upset a Republican or a Blue Dog or Wall Street, or the bankers, or the insurance and drug companies.

Wow, I thought Bill Clinton was a Republican in Democrat's clothing. Obama makes Clinton look like FDR or LBJ.

[Countess]

The only people they don't mind upsetting are those who voted for them hoping things would change.

[Alvin4NY]

$90 Million spent just so Bloomberg can continue to feel taller....­..what an ego.

[syllepsis]

Obama is afraid of Bloomberg?

Sad. I suppose that's why he told Reid to let Joe Lieberman keep his DHS chairmanship, too.

We have a problem here.

[Helzapoppin]

I believe the word for this is "cronyism.­"

[BlackYowe]

No kidding. Obama lost all my respect with this.

[maxfax]

People who sit on fences get splinters in their rears, and in this case lose the respect of voters.

[wonketteRAWKS]

The King wants to be president someday. Mark my words.

[Ponderus]

I want to offend Bloomberg: he's a closeted egomaniac who thinks his millions make him a better person than other people. Somebody forgot to tell him that in this society great wealth is mark of moral inferiority

[Cunningham]

BILLIONS. 17.5 of them.

[karma5230]

I live in NYC in a very liberal area of the city. There was no way I was voting for Thompson. I am a huge Obama supporter. But even given that...I can make up my own mind thankyouverymuch and I voted for Bloomberg. Thompson gave me no reason to vote for him. Thompson in fact said things that made me want to NOT vote for him.

[voltage356]

Like what did he say that made you not vote for him.

[karma5230]

He was against the Stop and Frisk program of the NYPD and would fire Commissioner Kelly. He also would can Joel Klein who has done an amazing job in improving the schools. I would not have even considered sending my oldest who has now graduated college to a public school but my youngest who is now in 8th grade is a public school student since kindergarten and will stay that way through High School.

The TWU did not help. The more they were against Bloomberg and ran all those negative adds the madder I got given what the transit strike they all put us through. Sure the city appealed the Arbitration award...bu­t the TWU has done the same thing before.

[naschkatze]

Maybe Obama, in a gesture of bipartisanship, should back the Republican in the 2012 election.

[naschkatze]

If I wrote what I really thought about this, I would be banned for life.

[voltage356]

Please share!

[J-Rome]

". . . according to exit polls, Mr. Bloomberg tapped into his historic sources of strength: Staten Island and Queens backed him by comfortable margins, as did Jews, white Catholics and those earning more than $200,000." -- New York Times, Nov. 3 2009.

“If there were somebody stronger running against him, I would have happily voted for them,” said Paul Ranson, 56, a designer also from Prospect Heights. “But there’s not, so I unhappily voted for Bloomberg.­”
-- New York Times, Nov 3, 2009.

Although he lost, Thompson did quite well with only a $6 million campaign budget. However, if the City Council is going to amend NYC's term limits law to allow Bloomberg to run for a third-term, and voters are going to "unhappily vote for Bloomberg", don't blame the POTUS.

[voltage356]

It could be that bloomy brought some of the ballot boxes. If i spent $100 million dollars on this there no way i'm going to lose this race even if i have to cheat.

[karma5230]

Yup...this is me. Give me a stronger Democratic contender I would happily vote for him or her. Thompson was not that person.

[J-Rome]

Voting for the candidate of your choice is part of what makes this country great. However, my point is simply this: don't blame the POTUS for the decision made by the Democrat controlled City Council to give Bloomberg an opportunity to run for a 3rd term, and the decision by a majority of NYC voters to re-elect Bloomberg.

[marmalade]

Obama has proved to be an unreliable ally, even working silently against Democrats. The administration has shown itself unreliable ally on Health Care Reform, torture investigations of Bush Administration, on and on.

In fact, they appear so unreliable need to begin to start thinking about alternatives in the 2012 election, just in case.

[J-Rome]

As with all things, the devil is in the details. Obama is not responsible for the New York City Council's decision to amend NYC's term limits law to allow Bloomberg to run for a third term. Further, Obama is not responsible for the delay in Democrats getting a health care bill passed out of Congress because certain Democrats are opposed to such a bill including a public option.

As for voting for an alternative President in 2012, speak for yourself. I'm going to wait until his term is up to see if he finally saves the world. LOL!

[voltage356]

Then the USA has no business telling other countries to follow the rule of law and that people should believe in democracy and vote