Michael Bloomberg Endorsing Obama for Second Term
In a surprising turn of events, the Mayor of New York is endorsing President Barack Obama for re-election. Michael Bloomberg, an Independent, did not endorse a candidate during the 2008 election and was believed to remain neutral during this year’s campaign as well. It seems however that the president’s stance on the reduction of carbon consumption and his quick response to Hurricane Sandy have jolted Bloomberg into action.”The devastation that Hurricane Sandy brought to New York City and much of the Northeast — in lost lives, lost homes and lost business — brought the stakes of next Tuesday’s presidential election into sharp relief,” wrote Bloomberg Thursday in an op-ed piece on his website.“Our climate is changing. … We need leadership from the White House.” “President Barack Obama has taken major steps to reduce our carbon consumption.”
Bloomberg also made mention of Republican candidate Mitt Romney and noted that while he has no personal issue with the former governor, he’s noticed a track record of flip-flopping on key issues including abortion, health care and immigration.”I believe Mitt Romney is a good and decent man and he would bring valuable business experience to the Oval Office,” said Bloomberg. “He understands that America was built on the promise of equal opportunity, not equal results. In the past he has also taken sensible positions on immigration, illegal guns, abortion rights and health care. But he has reversed course on all of them, and is even running against the health-care model he signed into law in Massachusetts.”
Upon hearing the news of Bloomberg’s endorsement, President Obama released a statement saying; ” I’m honored to have Mayor Bloomberg’s endorsement. […] While we may not agree on every issue, Mayor Bloomberg and I agree on the most important issues of our time — that the key to a strong economy is investing in the skills and education of our people, that immigration reform is essential to an open and dynamic democracy, and that climate change is a threat to our children’s future, and we owe it to them to do something about it.”
For Bloomberg’s letter in its entirety click here.
