The 2008 Race Just Got a Lot More Interesting

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg abruptly left the Republican Party yesterday, evidently clearly the path for an independent run for the presidency. He did this extraordinary thing while in California, which will have an early primary in 2008, and in the presence of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, another nominal "Republican" who's been pulling away from party orthodoxy. There was some joking in the press corps about a Bloomberg-Schwarzenegger presidential ticket. Stranger things have happened.

Our favorite quote about the Bloomberg gambit comes this a.m. from Rev. Al Sharpton:

"A girl in high school catches you looking at her and she starts wearing nice dresses. It doesn't mean she's going to date you. But she's at least teasing you, so it really increases your hope. This is a serious tease."

Our second most favorite quote comes from an anonymous political consultant:

"The market for billionaire businessmen is basically with soft Republican voters, and so he is likely to help the Democrats if he runs."

Serious teases, soft Republicans, hard money (Bloomberg has BILLIONS to self-finance a campaign) ... O the head swims at the prospects!

Bloomberg wouldn't have far to go to find a ready-made and growing campaign organization, either ... Unity '08. In fact, that group, which is dedicated to the proposition of transcending the deadlock of the two-party system, already has extended congratulations to Bloomberg for his gutsy move:

[Bloomberg's announcement] reinforces what Unity08 has been saying since our inception, that the current political system is broken and does not address the concerns of the majority of the population.