Was 2008 the Main Course When Bloomberg, Hagel Dined?

By JILL GARDINER, Staff Reporter of the Sun
May 6, 2007

Mayor Bloomberg's dinner with Senator Hagel of Nebraska this week has some wondering whether the two potential White House candidates were strategizing about an independent 2008 candidacy, or perhaps drawing straws to decide who would run.

The maverick Republicans had dinner at a political power-broker restaurant, The Palm, in what a Bloomberg aide said was their first extensive encounter. Neither Mr. Bloomberg's office nor Mr. Hagel's would disclose what the two discussed over their steak and fish, but political analysts asserted that 2008 probably took center stage.

The executive editor of Real-ClearPolitics.com, Tom Bevan, said he would be "shocked" if the issue of an independent candidacy didn't come up during the meal.

"The question is, were they talking about joining forces? Were they comparing notes? Were they feeling each other out for the prospect of what the other one might do? Were they flipping a coin to see who gets to run?" Mr. Bevan said.

The two politicians have similar independent streaks. Mr. Bloomberg is regularly at odds with the Republican Party on issues such as abortion, gun control, and the death penalty, while Mr. Hagel has been an outspoken critic of the Iraq war, and a Republican challenger has already emerged to take him on if he opts to run for reelection.

Mr. Hagel has said he is contemplating whether to run for president, and even joked in a Washington Post story in January that he and Mr. Bloomberg could join a bipartisan ticket. Mr. Bloomberg has denied that he plans to seek higher office, but his extensive travel and national policy initiatives have suggested otherwise.

The president and CEO of Unity08, Douglas Bailey, said he "thinks the world of both men, and I'm glad they met for dinner."

He said Unity08, a new bipartisan third party, is not endorsing anyone until its online convention in 2008, but said: "They'd be wonderful candidates."

One political consultant said he doubted either candidate would run, and noted that Messrs. Bloomberg and Hagel are both too outspoken to accept anything other than the top of the ticket.