For a Moment, Mayor Boosts Talk of 2008

Giving a boost to speculation that he will run for president in 2008, Mayor Bloomberg is saying he already knows the people he would seek out if he were to launch a White House bid.

"If I was going to run, I know exactly who to go to," he said yesterday at City Hall. When pressed later to specify the people he was referring to, he refused to name them.

"Why would I tell you? Are you out of your mind?" Mr. Bloomberg said, snapping at a reporter. "If you have a real question that's serious, I'd be happy to answer it." Mr. Bloomberg was responding to a report in the New York Post yesterday that said his advisers are contacting consultants from his past mayoral campaigns in preparation for a possible presidential run.

"To the best of my knowledge I haven't — I don't think anybody else that works with me has— reached out to anybody new in the last month," he said.

When asked if he approves of his advisers exploring national campaign possibilities, Mr. Bloomberg said: "They don't consult with me about it. They can do it on their own."

"There's plenty of people out there looking around, I don't know who they're out they're touting," he said.

"I saw Joe Lieberman endorsed John McCain, I think that's fine. Obama's got a great endorser in Oprah. People are out there endorsing each other all the time." Mr. Bloomberg has said repeatedly that he is not a candidate for president.