The announcement of a Bloomberg for President campaign in 2008 increasingly appears to be less a matter of "if" and more a question of "when."
The hints dropped by Mayor Mike and his aides are coming so thick and fast you have to duck to avoid being hit upside the head.
On Friday, Bloomberg traveled to Texas and Oklahoma--two states that just so happen to have the most difficult ballot access and where any independent presidential candidate would be wise to get an early start.
While in Houston, Bloomberg delivered a speech to business leaders about national energy policy--hardly a top concern for a contented mayor--and slammed Washington lawmakers for "passing the buck" on energy reform.
The multibillionaire mayor then flew to Oklahoma City on his private jet (no campaign plane funded by special interest donors for him), where he visited the Oklahoma City National Memorial and Museum--a not-so-subtle reminder that New York has its own memorial to build.
He insists he has no designs on the White House but just relaunched his Web site from his successful mayoral campaigns.
Today, Bloomberg will lobby state lawmakers in Albany on his controversial congestion pricing proposal--part of a bold bid to make New York City greener that has drawn accolades from California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who could prove to be a key ally in a state rich in electoral votes.
Need more proof of Bloomberg's '08 aspirations?
How about his national coalition Mayors Against Illegal Guns?
What about those meetings between Bloomberg's top political adviser, Kevin Sheekey, and state Independence Party Chairman Frank MacKay, at which the topic of a nationwide ballot access strategy was discussed? These get-togethers, first reported here three weeks ago, were picked up by the Daily Telegraph of London on Saturday.
Pundits say Bloomberg is unlikely to run if the Republican presidential nominee is Rudy Giuliani, despite the fact that the results of today's Daily News poll show more New Yorkers think the current mayor would be a better commander in chief.
"This is not going to translate to the rest of the country," warned Blum & Weprin Associates President Mickey Blum, who conducted the Daily News poll. "Nationally, people think of Giuliani as the person who cleaned up New York City. They don't necessarily credit Bloomberg with much of anything. They just don't know him."
But with the $500 million to $1 billion the mayor is speculated to be willing to spend if he runs, he could get known. And fast.
"Politics is a function of time and resources, and he has both" said Democratic political strategist Hank Sheinkopf. "He's the luckiest guy of all, because he can sit by, watch and make decisions on his own timetable. While the others are engaged in combat, all he does is get stronger every day."