If Clinton Tanks, Democrats Have Only One Alternative

That's Michael Bloomberg, writes Michael Wolff
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted May 26, 2015 1:47 PM CDT
If Clinton Tanks, Democrats Have Only One Alternative
Former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Will he run?   (AP Photo/The Berkshire Eagle, Gillian Jones)

So what happens if Hillary Clinton's campaign implodes, say, next winter, with no viable alternatives on deck for the Democrats? Toss around your favorite names, but there's only one candidate who could turn things around for the party at that point, writes Newser co-founder Michael Wolff in USA Today. That would be Michael Bloomberg. "And it's not simply that this is the sole person with $2 billion in his or her pocket, but the only person who could instantly offer a post-Clinton and post-Obama reset and new start." Wolff makes the case that both Democrats and Republicans are engaged in a "race from the center" toward the extremes of their parties, thus making a centrist such as Bloomberg an attractive alternative.

"It's the fundamental duh formula: a progressive social conscience with pro-growth economic views," he writes. Plus, Bloomberg's vast fortune "in effect neutralizes the issue of outside money in politics." The chances of Clinton's campaign going into a meltdown next year aren't insignificant, and if that happens, Democrats will be faced with what Wolff calls "an existential political crisis," one that "favors the bold and the rich." Bloomberg, who once upended New York City politics by running as a Republican, is the only one who fits the bill. Click for Wolff's full column. (More Michael Bloomberg stories.)

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