Mayor Mike Backs Obama. So What?
The media’s most beloved mayor has made a belated endorsement.
In an editorial for Bloomberg View, Michael Bloomberg endorsed Barack Obama on Thursday. Bloomberg’s endorsement made headlines for obvious reasons. After all, the Democrat turned Republican turned independent mayor would be a national figure even if he never held elected office, by virtue of his $25 billion fortune and media empire.
But is Bloomberg’s endorsement that meaningful? After all, can a political figure who has carved an unique ideological niche for himself by crusading venomously against teachers’ unions, handguns and Big Gulps have that many adherents? And if so, are there any in Toledo?
Although Bloomberg’s endorsement likely does carry a little bit of weight on the Upper East Side, there are no swing electoral votes up on Park Avenue and any lingering magic that the Bloomberg name carries evaporates west of Morristown. But does that make Mike Bloomberg’s endorsement totally valueless?
No. Instead, Mayor Mike’s backing is simply yet another celebrity endorsement. Bloomberg regularly appears on television (which shouldn’t be surprising, considering he owns a TV network) and has relatively high name recognition. It is a celebrity endorsement in a campaign where stars have played a major role.
From Clint Eastwood’s dialogue with an empty chair at the Republican National Convention to Bruce Springsteen and Katy Perry stumping for Barack Obama, it seems there is a new political celebrity everyday. Bloomberg’s backing serves as an extension of that trend. Although his editorial is a nuanced and rather lukewarm endorsement of the president’s re-election, that doesn’t make it into the headline. Instead, we get the bare-bones endorsement, which simply gets perceived as one more celebrity for Obama and one less high-profile figure who might back Romney. And if swing state voters don’t make up their mind based on Clint Eastwood, Michael Bloomberg won’t sway them either.
But he sure won’t have trouble getting any future editorials on Bloomberg View.
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