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I've had this theory for awhile, but it's still very up for grabs. While it does not follow the regional formula, it would follow Bill Clinton's 1992 strategy of maximizing your strengths instead of minimizing your weaknesses. Clinton and Gore were from the same area of the country, but they both reinforced the ideas of youth and vigor.
For Obama to pick Bloomberg, it would reinforce his calls for bipartisanship while getting a supremely competent man for the #2 spot. Bloomberg has been my mayor for some time now, and while he is not a grand persona like Giuliani or most NYC mayors, he has done a fairly excellent job while setting out an impressive and ambitious agenda for greening the city and other major measures. In short, he's run a tight ship and charted a bold course forward.
The news of a Bloomberg nod would gain tremendous media coverage and launch a thousand magazine covers on the new spirit of bipartisanship.
On top of that, it is no secret that Bloomberg has the bankroll of a small nation, and has suggested that he is willing to use a sizeable chunck of it. Bloomberg and his surrogates have suggested that it would depend on how polarizing the candidates were (read: Clinton) for him to pull a third party run. An Obama run would pull the rug from under his rationale, but a VP nod would certainly make sense for this clearly ambitious man, as it would set up the prospect of a future candidacy with the Democratic party.
Of course, a Bloomberg in the VP slot would mean that Obama missed a chance to put in a Joe Biden to bolster his foreign policy credentials (his judgement I don't doubt, but a lengthy resume seems to go a long way). If he were to choose Bloomberg, he would have to make some sort of major announcements about his Sec of State and/or Sec of Defense to indicate that he'd be surrounded by people of experience. I think Biden would make a fine Secretary of State, I think Biden thinks so too.
I know that some of you may balk at choosing a non-Democrat, but those that know NYC politics understand why he had to put on the ill-fitting suit of the GOP to become mayor. Personally, I do not doubt his commitment to Democratic principles. But I do think that his presence would make a tremendous gesture to the spirit of unity that so many Americans have longed for after the attacks of 9/11 - a spirit of unity that doesn't say "fall in line," but says "we're all in this together, so let's help one another."
And then take that message on a global scale.
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