Michael Bloomberg, the sitting Mayor of New York, has exited the Republican Party, causing widespread speculation that he is considering a run for the White House as an independent. Although he is saying that he is not running, we read reports that he's had staffers looking into the possibility of run for two years now, and that the research has included a study of the last major third party attempt by Ross Perot. Bloomberg's personal worth is said to be in the 5.5B range, and it is also being said that he may invest about a tenth of that into a national campaign without hardly noticing that it's missing from his bank account.
SmartMedia observation: We don't need to point out that 2008 is already poised to blow the doors of campaign spending at any time in the history of the United States. A sudden infusion of big-time cash from Bloomberg would just take it over the top. Remember that if he's using his own money he is not diverting campaign contributions from other candidates. Although it may suppress donations from would-be contributors who support Bloomberg and therefore donate to him or nobody, and may also inspire the Democratic and Republican nominees to forego public funding and redouble their own cash-raising efforts. This may be especially true since Bloomberg's track record as a member of each party at one time or another may make it unclear which party will be damaged the most by his candidacy. One side effect of all this will be massive pressure on inventory. It should wind up being a boon to radio and other alternatives as TV time sells out.
