Like his shortness of stature, his marital status serves to emphasize Mr. Bloomberg’s peculiar-bird status, but if he runs this will help him. The fact that he is so different from the usual bunch with their usual talk, and that includes Hillary, is to his advantage.
Being Jewish is also thought to be an insuperable barrier to the White House. But is it? Americans of whatever religious background will vote for Jewish candidates who appeal to them. Thirteen members of the U.S. Senate are Jewish, every one of them put there by an overwhelmingly non-Jewish electorate.
At this juncture America needs a Jewish president. Not for some silly P.C. diversity reason but because America and much of the world are crying out for a change in U.S. Middle East policies, which entails putting pressure on Israel. A Jewish president is in the best position to do that.
Richard Nixon, who made his political name as the implacable, uncompromising foe of Communism here and abroad, opened relations between the United States and Communist China. He was the one person who could do it politically. In like measure only a Jewish president who also has the best interests of Israel at heart will be able to make the changes that must be made if we are to wiggle our way out of the hellish dilemmas which are gradually killing us.
Mr. Bloomberg is a terrible public speaker. What he lacks in charm, grace and inspiration, he makes up for with a kind of quacking authenticity. He is rough where the others are smooth or greasy. He is clear and unequivocal where the others are wiggle wordy. To listen to him is to know exactly where he stands; to listen to the others is to know they talk with unspoken subtexts you will only find out later.
Fifteen years ago H. Ross Perot might well have won, had he not, in the middle of the campaign, gone off his rocker. Even after having lost his marbles, Mr. Perot garnered almost 20 percent of the vote.
Rest assured, if Mr. Bloomberg runs, he is not going to lose his marbles. If he wins, he is not going to be President Perfect. He is dangerously secretive, he hates the media and he is stubborn, but he offers so many other pluses that he stands an excellent chance of making history.
