New York City Mayor Bloomberg wants Hillary Clinton to run for mayor, but she is just not interested.
According to the New York Times, Bloomberg encouraged Clinton to consider entering the 2013 mayor's race via phone call, which was confirmed by three people. The mayor suggested that she would be a "perfect fit."
However, during the conversation, the retiring U.S. secretary of state made it clear that she is not interested in being mayor.
"He is looking for somebody he can feel comfortable handing the reins over to," said Hank Sheinkopf, a New York City political operative who worked on Mr. Bloomberg's last campaign.
The people familiar with Bloomberg's conversation with Clinton characterized it as a casual but earnest discussion that touched on the futures on them both.
New York Times writer Michael Barbaro points out, "Mr. Bloomberg's reaching out to her is rich with political intrigue. He has privately signaled support for the presumptive candidacy of Christine C. Quinn, the City Council speaker, who cleared a path for his third term by backing a change to the city's term-limit law. The mayor's political apparatus has begun to coalesce around Ms. Quinn, and she promotes herself as a leader who ran the city alongside Mr. Bloomberg."
"Mr. Bloomberg's overture to the former first lady highlights the level of his anxiety about the current crop of candidates, his eagerness to recruit a replacement who can rival his stature and his determination to become a kingmaker in the political arena he will soon exit."
Robert Zimmerman, a Democratic National Committee member from New York, puts the situation in a different context, according to the NYT report.
"If in fact he did say that to Hillary Clinton, it's only because he holds the position and therefore regards it as a step up from being president," he said.
Perhaps Clinton said no because she has bigger plans up her sleeves. It is widely believed that Clinton is the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination for president in 2016 if she pursues it. This wouldn't be a bad idea. It seems that the public wants the secretary of state to become president.
Politico.com posted some tweets from Twitterverse responding to the news of the Bloomberg/Clinton phone call. One said, "She'd make a great NYC mayor, but I'd rather see her be president." Another said, "Thank God Hillary Clinton does not want to run for Mayor. We need her to run for president." One more said, "Of course Hillary isn't interested in running for mayor of New York. Homegirl is going to be president."
What are your views on Clinton for NYC mayor or president? Sound off below!
