SURPRISE PARTY SWAP FOR MIKE By DAVID SEIFMAN, and MAGGIE HABERMAN
STRONGMEN: Bloomy, in L.A. yesterday with Arnold Schwarzenegger, was hailed by the Governator as an "excellent" '08 candidate.June 20, 2007 --
Mayor Bloomberg took his biggest step toward a White House run - and potentially plunged the 2008 contest into chaos - when he announced yesterday he's quitting the Republican Party to become an independent.
The stunning move could make Bloomberg, who has insisted he has no plans to run but has refused to completely rule it out, the third New Yorker involved in the White House race. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton is the front-runner in the Democratic contest, while Bloomberg's predecessor, Rudy Giuliani, leads most polls for the Republican nomination.
"Although my plans for the future haven't changed, I believe this brings my affiliation into alignment with how I have led and will continue to lead our city," Bloomberg said in a statement last night, explaining why he had filed papers with the Board of Elections last Friday, changing his party registration.
"We have achieved real progress by overcoming the partisanship that too often puts narrow interests above the common good.
"As a political independent, I will continue to work with those in all political parties to find common ground, to put partisanship aside and to achieve real solutions to the challenges we face.
"Any successful elected executive knows that real results are more important than partisan battles."
Political insiders familiar with Bloomberg's switch said it was triggered by the fact that some states where the billionaire mayor could compete as a self-financed candidate have rules making it complicated for people to get on the ballot as independents if they're registered to a party in their home states.
The mayor faced a mid-October deadline in order to be a registered independent by November 2008.
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Tony
June 20, 2007, 7:58am
Guest User
That was a good decision for Bloomberg if he is going to run for the president. I don't think that the American voter want a democrat or republican so maybe this will work for him. Can he have Swartenager as a vice president being that he wasn't American born?
NO, Arnie cannot be Vice President, or even run for it, for the same reason that Slick Willie can't be vice. Well, sort of. Since Slick Willie was prez for 8 years already, he's ineligible for Prez or VP. Arnie can't be considering he's not a natural-born citizen of the US.
Vice President of the United States Eligibility - The Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution requires the vice president to meet the same eligibility requirements as the president. That is, the vice president must be at least 35 years of age, a natural born citizen, and a resident of the U.S. for 14 years. The Twenty-second Amendment limits the president to only two terms in office. (Any period of service in the office of president, having succeeded from the vice presidency, counts as one term if it is for two years or more.) Thus, the maximum number of years a person may serve as president is ten years (two full four-year terms and one two-year term having succeeded to the presidency). Once a person is ineligible for the office of president, he is also ineligible for the office of vice president.
"Any successful elected executive knows that real results are more important than partisan battles."
REALLY?
I think they're saying that the real results are getting into the position, then you can do whatever you feel like and ignore everybody that got you in there. We can ignore the partisan battles if / until we're getting the paychecks.
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