New York, NY – Bloomberg Wary of ‘Obama Factor’ in Re-Election Campaign

New York, NY – Mayor Bloomberg has said so many nice things about President Obama lately you’d think he actually voted for the guy.

“President Obama’s going to have some very difficult decisions to make, and he’s going to need support from people,” Bloomberg told the Brooklyn NAACP.
“The leadership that the President has showed, and the promise of addressing issues like health care and public education – which to me is the most important thing we should be focusing on – is going to set a tone so people will have confidence in the future.”

Bloomberg has been talking up our first black President for months now, even as he has refused to say if he voted for him, even after confiding to Republican leaders in private that he supported John McCain.

He has met with Obama in Washington, met with his education secretary in New York, even spoken out in favor of a health care plan that Obama hasn’t finished writing.

At the same time, Bloomberg has been courting the NAACP in advance of its 100th anniversary, to be celebrated in July in Manhattan – headlined with a speech from the President.

He has given money to the NAACP – amount undisclosed – to support its convention, and he recently hosted its leaders for dinner at his townhouse.

He is also running for re-election against a black man, City Controller William Thompson, at a time when many New York voters are unhappy – and still savoring the good feeling of electing the nation’s first black President.

The NAACP doesn’t issue endorsements, and Bloomberg scoffed at the idea that Obama would ever endorse him. For what it’s worth, the Rev. Al Sharpton insists he’ll work hard on Thompson’s behalf.

Still, with all of his outreach – and his early endorsements from African-American religious leaders – it sure looks like Bloomberg is trying to at least neutralize Thompson’s appeal.

“I think that’s what he’s thinking,” said New York NAACP President Hazel Dukes. “He understands the Obama fever.”

She drew an analogy to Obama’s primary battle against Hillary Clinton, who had locked up the support of most of New York’s black elected officials – but whose support was irrelevant when most black New Yorkers flocked to Obama, especially in the outer boroughs.

“The Obama fever in Queens ran all over the elected officials,” Dukes said. “Don’t forget, (Thompson)’s a Brooklyn boy. Brooklyn is fluid. Brooklyn could go either way.”

Thompson is amused by so much pro-Obama cheerleading from a man who will be running for a third term as a Republican.

“I’m glad that he’s supporting the President. I’d like to see more Republicans supporting the President,” Thompson said.

“New Yorkers are smart enough to see through a blatant political attempt to court favor. And no, I do not think it is going to work.”