Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

COLUMN: Bloomberg key to Democratic victory
By Brian Murphy
The Lantern (Ohio State U.)
06/26/2007

(U-WIRE) COLUMBUS, Ohio — In the interest of ending the war in Iraq, I would not suggest that any registered voter support a Republican candidate for president in 2008. It is also necessary to avoid falling into the trap of a candidate who supports the war from outside the Republican Party. Obviously, Michael Bloomberg is the potential candidate I am referring to.

I realize it might seem unnecessary for me to use my column in order to caution voters against voting for a man who has stated he is not running for president. Nevertheless, Michael Bloomberg could run for president, because he has the money and potential support to do so. For that reason, I believe his possible campaign for the presidency merits discussion. If he were to run for president, he would run as an Independent, as he just recently left the Republican Party. As an Independent, he would attempt to appeal to voters on the grounds that there is a bitter division and too much partisanship in Washington.

Despite his attempt to appeal to those who are tired of the partisan bickering in Washington, Bloomberg would have to deal with the majority of those voters, who are also firmly in opposition to further involvement in Iraq. This is extremely problematic for Bloomberg, as he has spoken in favor of the war in Iraq during a 2004 press conference with Laura Bush. It is also worth mentioning Bloomberg came out in opposition to a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq as recently as March of this year.

Despite the fact he is wrong on Iraq and the war on terror, Bloomberg's campaign for president would only be bad for America if he won. This is highly unlikely, because an Independent has never been elected to the presidency in the modern era, and the two major parties have too much influence and too strong of a following to be defeated. Even if he gets more votes than any other Independent candidate in American history, he would still be unable to steal enough votes from the two major parties to defeat both. In fact, one could claim - as I am claiming now - Bloomberg's campaign would be good for America in a roundabout way. Allow me to give a brief explanation: Bloomberg would take votes from the Republican candidate in key states, which would help the Democratic candidate win the presidency and be much better than a Republican or an independent conservative winning.

Fortunately for Democrats, Bloomberg can take enough votes to hurt one party and help the other. If Bloomberg hurts a party, it will be the Republicans, as he served as Republican mayor of New York and still enjoys much support from Republicans. If Bloomberg takes enough votes from Republicans in key states, he can lift the Democrats to victory. Even if Bloomberg takes votes from both parties, the Democrats should still be in the best shape, because most Americans are worn out on the Republican Party and Republican policies. If Bloomberg ran, it might also create a situation similar to the election of 1992, which put Bill Clinton in the White House.

In the end, I do hope Bloomberg runs for president as an Independent candidate, but this is not because I believe he would make a good president. I hope he runs and creates a situation that would benefit the Democratic candidate. I believe it is necessary to stop the Republican Party from permanently changing America's foreign policy to neo-conservatism. I also believe it is of the utmost importance to defeat the theocratic principles of the religious right at home. For this reason, I hope Michael Bloomberg runs for president to take votes away from Republicans who would support a neo-conservative foreign policy and an end to separation of church and state. However, I would never suggest voting for him, because that would be an endorsement of a failing neo-conservative foreign policy.

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