CAPTION.
CREDIT
Adam Brodsky’s column, “No Labels = No Ideas,” (PostOpinion, Dec. 3) is great.
Mayor Bloomberg should run, and keep running, until he is as far away from New York City as possible.
Jane Bernard
Woodside
***
Brodsky neglects to mention the primary reason Bloomberg is unsuitable for the presidency.
Bloomberg abrogated the main principle of democracy: the rule of the majority expressed through a vote by overturning term limits. He ignored the will of the people in order to feed his own ego and further his own ambitions.
Bloomberg happens to be a terrible mayor. Instead of taking on municipal labor-union contracts that result in outrageously high labor and retirement costs, he ignored it, preferring to secure union support for a second and third term.
In his financial position, not needing contributions from organized labor, he squandered an opportunity to tackle this major problem, even if it might have resulted in him being a one-term mayor.
A. Feinman
Manhattan
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Do we really need a President Bloomberg to tell us what not to eat, where not to drive and how high we should set our thermostats?
Maybe Bloomberg is posturing to be a spoiler in 2012, clawing back just enough of the independents President Obama alienated to tilt the election away from the Republican candidate.
But Bloomberg is really just another elitist, know-it-all, left-of-center progressive. He’s contemptuous of the electorate and the term limits it placed upon him, and, swaddled in his billions, he’s insulated from the policy prescriptions he’d in-
flicit upon the rest of us.
Ray Arroyo
Westwood, NJ
***
Bloomberg will never run, but he may appear to be interested in running to stay relevant.
His biggest fear is irrelevancy. That’s why he broke the public’s trust and sullied himself with a third term acquired his way.
What could be more boring than waking up on 79th Street and walking to 78th Street to write generous checks to organizations that his large staff recommends?
Paul S. Levy
Manhattan
***
I could not disagree more with Brodsky’s conclusion that Bloomberg should be dissuaded from running for president.
While Bloomberg’s liberal ideology on social issues will prove to be a liability to voters in the critical Midwest, his pragmatic politics on critical issues, such as the economy, health care and taxes may appeal to many progressive voters, especially New Yorkers.
Bloomberg’s knowledge of global finance is second to none. In the last couple of years, Bloomberg has learned to speak Spanish fluently and now enjoys widespread political support in the important Hispanic demographic.
Finally, Bloomberg understands how raising taxes on people earning $250,000 a year is counter-productive to our economy.
Do not underestimate Bloomberg.
Michael P. Mulhall
Rockville Centre
***
If Bloomberg were to become president, he would probably put bike lanes on every interstate highway.
Richard Reay
The Bronx
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While I agree that Bloomberg should keep his eye on New York City, his flirtation with a presidential run is less about him and more about a national thirst to find an alternative to our broken two-party system.
Kevin Sheekey had a walk in the park with Bloomberg’s mayoral campaigns. He had endless money, a hugely popular candidate and no real competition with which to contend. A presidential campaign, especially a third-party one, is a much different animal.
Bloomberg brings a mostly nonpolitical perspective to the process in an era in which the electorate is exhausted with career politicians.
Is Bloomberg the answer? Probably not, but he does give food for thought at a level not seen in modern times.
Thank you for
the thought-provoking piece.
Scott Stuart
Manhattan