All but Mayor Talk of 2008 Possibilities

Mayor Bloomberg doesn't need to utter the words "presidential candidate" or "White House" for them to trail him wherever he goes.

At a convocation ceremony at Rockefeller University in Manhattan yesterday, where Mr. Bloomberg delivered a speech and received an honorary degree, speculation about the mayor's presidential aspirations poured from the chairman of the university's trustees, Russell Carson, and the university president, Paul Nurse.

"I would like to tell you, unequivocally, Mayor Bloomberg is not running for the office of president of the United States — at the present time," Mr. Carson, who introduced Mr. Bloomberg, said, eliciting laughs from the audience.

After Mr. Bloomberg finished his speech, in which he did not mention the presidency or plans to enter the race, Mr. Nurse said pointedly: "We're with you all the way."

Mr. Bloomberg's departure from the Republican Party earlier this week has injected a shot of adrenaline into the mayor's appearances at home.

Mr. Bloomberg exhorted the audience to "work for a political environment that truly respects science and scientists."

Mr. Bloomberg also said the graduates, who included many international students, provided a strong argument for new immigration policies.

"Our current, wildly unrealistic, and unworkable visa restrictions severely handicap international students studying here, or at MIT, or Caltech, or Johns Hopkins," he said. "These restrictions hamper our nation's ability to compete in a global economy."