Q: Will Mike Bloomberg run for president as an independent?

Mike Bloomberg: Redefines 'green' party

A: He's thinking about it, says the Washington Post. With no pressing need to get a jump on fundraising (millionaires may need your support, but billionaires don't), NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg wouldn't announce his candidacy until early '08, the Post writes.

Market-savvy as he is, Bloomberg might realize that his best chance for the White House, in the current political atmosphere, is to disassociate himself from the idiocy of both parties and run indie-stizz.

Publicly, the Democrat-turned-Republican professes no interest in the top job at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. But the founder of the Bloomberg financial news empire has dropped enough hints and has had enough tantalizing discussions with potential supporters that people who observe the city's politics for a living are convinced he is at least thinking about it.

T.A.M.S.Y. implicitly distrusts billionaires, media moguls and anyone who's ever been mayor of New York City — but we might be willing to make an exception for Bloomberg. For God's sake, even the Rev. Al Sharpton likes him!

"He would be a very compelling candidate," said civil rights activist Al Sharpton, himself a once and potentially future presidential hopeful from the Big Apple, and a friend of the mayor's. Sharpton called Bloomberg "Ross Perot with a résumé" and predicted that "if he operates as he's done in other parts of his life, he will put both feet in."

If the rumors turn out to be true, this leaves open the possibility that the 2008 race for the White House could be a three-horse race between a current New York senator, a former New York City mayor and the current mayor. As if New Yorkers needed another reason to be solipsistic bastards?

Of course, in the nightmare night-terror scenario where Hillary Clinton and Rudy Giuliani win their parties' respective noms, I'd jump at the opportunity to vote for "Ross Perot with a résumé." At that point, I'd be willing to settle for just plain Ross Perot.