So Bloomberg has declared independence from the GOP and changed his registration.  Let’s assume that this means that he will run for President instead of what it probably really is (a desire to detach himself from a radioactive label that can only be damaging to his continued tenure in NYC).  In that case, New Yorkers will get very excited about the prospect of having a presidential election version of a subway series.  As with the actual subway series, the rest of the country groans at the thought of three New Yorkers running for President (Clinton is not really much more of a New Yorker than I am, but technically she is one).  It is at times like this when New Yorkers are reminded that, as a general rule, the rest of us don’t like them very much and wish they would stop bothering us. 

Fortunately, I don’t think this Five Boroughs three-way will happen.  I will even say that neither major party will nominate a New Yorker for President.  More than that, I will go so far as to say that I don’t think a Bloomberg ticket would get many votes at all, and certainly not enough to be competitive.  What, after all, is the rationale for the man’s candidacy?  Is it “I have to spend my money faster!”?  Could it be, “We cannot allow that right-winger Obama in the Oval Office”?  Honestly, I don’t see where Bloomberg gets real support from voters.  He would appeal mainly to cultural liberals and moderate Republicans, most of whom are already going to be leaning towards the Democratic candidate in a big Democratic year.  Their great fear is that supporting a third party candidate from the center-left or left could “Naderise” the ’08 election and ensure a GOP victory, putting a Fred Thompson or Romney at the helm.  That’s a sobering thought for all of us.  A Giuliani nomination might actually help Bloomberg by making the GOP’s nominee so loathsome to its core constituencies and everyone else that they would almost have no choice but to throw their support behind the independent, but Giuliani will not be the nominee.  The lesson is this: New York and New Yorkers are not nearly as relevant or as interesting as the folks there would like to believe.