Michael Bloomberg Endorses Barack Obama, Citing Obama's Leadership, Romney's Lurch to the Right

by: lowkell

Thu Nov 01, 2012 at 15:27:40 PM EDT

Michael Bloomberg nails it.

[Mitt Romney] couldn't have been more right [about tackling climate change as governor of Massachusetts, including "sign[ing] on to a regional cap-and-trade plan designed to reduce carbon emissions 10 percent below 1990 levels"]. But since then, he has reversed course, abandoning the very cap-and-trade program he once supported. This issue is too important. We need determined leadership at the national level to move the nation and the world forward.
...In the past [Mitt Romney] has also taken sensible positions on immigration, illegal guns, abortion rights and health care. But he has reversed course on all of them, and is even running against the health-care model he signed into law in Massachusetts.
If the 1994 or 2003 version of Mitt Romney were running for president, I may well have voted for him because, like so many other independents, I have found the past four years to be, in a word, disappointing.

As for President Obama, Mayor Bloomberg says he has "achieved some important victories on issues that will help define our future": on education, women's and LGB T rights, and the "urgent problem that threatens our planet" - climate change. That's about as stark a contrast as one could imagine between the two candidates seeking the highest office in this country. The clear choice, in Mayor Bloomberg's view, is Barack Obama. Obviously, I couldn't agree more, both with Bloomberg's choice and also with his reasoning (particularly regarding climate change, the most important issue facing mankind BY FAR, yet one that has been almost completely neglected in this abysmal presidential campaign).

lowkell :: Michael Bloomberg Endorses Barack Obama, Citing Obama's Leadership, Romney's Lurch to the Right

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Michael Bloomberg Endorses Barack Obama, Citing Obama's Leadership, Romney's Lurch to the Right | 2 comments

President Obama "honored to have Mayor Bloomberg's endorsement" (0.00 / 0)

I'm honored to have Mayor Bloomberg's endorsement. I deeply respect him for his leadership in business, philanthropy and government, and appreciate the extraordinary job he's doing right now, leading New York City through these difficult days.
While we may not agree on every issue, Mayor Bloomberg and I agree on the most important issues of our time - that the key to a strong economy is investing in the skills and education of our people, that immigration reform is essential to an open and dynamic democracy, and that climate change is a threat to our children's future, and we owe it to them to do something about it. Just as importantly, we agree that whether we are Democrats, Republicans, or independents, there is only one way to solve these challenges and move forward as a nation - together. I look forward to thanking him in person - but for now, he has my continued commitment that this country will stand by New York in its time of need. And New Yorkers have my word that we will recover, we will rebuild, and we will come back stronger.

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by: lowkell @ Thu Nov 01, 2012 at 19:40:15 PM UTC

Ezra Klein has some fascinating commentary on this endorsement (0.00 / 0)

From his Twitter feed.

1. Bloomberg's endorsement is one of the most fascinating and strategically designed endorsements I've seen.

2. By endorsing this close to the election, he's trying to impose a real cost on the Republican Party for climate denialism.

3. By attacking Obama and praising the old Romney in his op-ed, he's buttressing his role as an arbiter of the center.

4. And then he's spending that credibility to make "acting to stop climate change" a centrist issue.

5. Bloomberg's not endorsing Obama so much as he's trying to reset the incentives on climate change. It's a huge play.

6. And by tying the endorsement to Sandy, Bloomberg is trying to cement the idea that Sandy=climate change

7. Making it at least a bit more likely that the political elites will see Sandy as a proper forcing event for action on climate change.

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by: lowkell @ Thu Nov 01, 2012 at 20:03:42 PM UTC

Michael Bloomberg Endorses Barack Obama, Citing Obama's Leadership, Romney's Lurch to the Right | 2 comments

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