Bloomberg for president?

... A close reading of the policies Mr. Bloomberg has promoted during his mayoralty suggests that Mr. Bloomberg actually has a lot in common with one party’s leading candidates — the Democrats — and not so much with the other’s. Indeed, on issues like gay marriage and gun control, Mr. Bloomberg stands well to the left of top-tier Democratic candidates like Hillary Rodham Clinton, John Edwards and Barack Obama.

... “If you want to place him in the spectrum of American politics, he’s a liberal Democrat on all the major litmus test issues, and he’s a liberal Democrat on taxing and spending,” said Douglas A. Muzzio, a professor at the Baruch College School of Public Affairs. “I don’t see the product differentiation, except for the $4 billion bank account and the aura of the philosopher-king.”

... His large personal fortune and ability to self-finance a campaign, [supporters] argue, would insulate him from the demands of special-interest groups, allowing him to serve as an honest broker in the White House, much as he has in City Hall.

... “It’s a tone of very self-conscious bipartisanship,” said Mr. Galston, who is supporting Mrs. Clinton for president. “It’s a tone of uttering certain uncomfortable truths that partisans of both parties don’t want to hear. And it’s a way of leading that seems oriented towards unity rather than division. There is definitely a market for that kind of politics.” In areas like education and poverty, some experts say, Mr. Bloomberg has blended traditionally liberal and conservative policies with notable success.  ... New York Times