Moderates May Field Indie Candidate

Michael Bloomberg may run in 2008 after all, if a bipartisan group of politicos fail to see progress from the major parties, the Washington Post reports. Bloomberg and a gaggle of figures, including former senators and governors, will meet next week in Oklahoma. They plan to demand that major presidential hopefuls reveal their scheme for a “government of national unity." If candidates fail the test, a new party may be born.

Ex-Democratic senator David Boren, one of the organizers, said he will likely back an independent challenger "if we don't see a refocusing of the campaign on a bipartisan approach.” Bloomberg, the New York mayor and multibillionaire who has denied an ’08 run, could raise campaign funds easily, the Post notes. Other attendees will include Dwight Eisenhower’s granddaughter and Republican senator Chuck Hagel. (More independent presidential candidates stories.)