The Lizard Queen has a backup plan in case the Bush administration winds at her back aren’t enough:
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg revealed Tuesday that he has ended his marriage of convenience with the Republican Party, thrusting himself firmly onto the national stage as a potential independent candidate for president – a billion-dollar elephant in the room of presidential politics.
Bloomberg has denied that he’s running, but has also refused to rule out a bid…. Some of Bloomberg’s friends, however, take that denial with a wink.
Team Clinton is simply taking a page from the playbook that got Bill elected. Encourage a third-party no-hoper to run in order to siphon away the squishy independent votes from the Republican candidate, which leaves a sufficient plurality for the Democratic victory.
I don’t think this is actually necessary, especially with the Bush administration creating a severe degree of difficulty for most of the Republican candidates with its refusal to abandon either the occupations or the immigration amnesty. But it demonstrates the lengths that Team Clinton is prepared to go in order to ensure her victory.
It’s interesting to note that Edwards appears to be staking out a bit of an anti-immigration position, since Hillary has failed to do so. It probably won’t work for him, but it will be interesting to see if it causes Hillary to follow suit. If she nails down the anti-war and anti-immigration votes, she won’t need Bloomberg.