Posted on 02/19/2009 3:54:49 PM PST by Michael Eden
I wouldn’t attempt to argue that Bloomberg is “stupid.”
But I would say that he is a political opportunist who says what he says for political effect rather than from conviction, and that his worldview might enable him to succeed in business (particularly if he violates his own alleged “principles” for the sake of a buck), but that doesn’t mean that it is a sound worldview.
Bloomberg has never been the sort of politician I would be willing to trust.
I think there is a consistency to his world view—though it certainly isn’t mine. It is one somehow shared by many longtime Manhattanites. (And those are the relatively pragmatic ones, not the real loonies!)
Does he have your typical self-made billionaire’s arrogance, sometimes bordering on delusion? Yes, I think he’s got that too. All told not too bad for NYC—though not as good as Giuliani. Still, he is something of an embarrassment on the national political stage.
As to all that party switching, you’re right: that’s pure opportunism!
9yrlurker,
I completely agree with you that there IS a consistency to the worldviews of liberals and conservatives alike.
I wish more people understood that. Many look at their leaders with a “salad bar” mentality, refusing to look at a candidate at the comprehensive level.
Bloomberg is a lightweight version of Arnold Schwarzenegger - a social liberal but relative fiscal conservative. Which basically means both men are liberals who have some understanding of the laws of economics.
Yes, that’s it exactly! The simple truth is most people want to be good and kind people. If they live in an environment—Manhattan or Hollywood—in which the accepted social views are liberal, then only if they are very strongly independent and thorough in their thinking (e.g., Reagan, Moynihan) will they go against that orthodoxy.
Many Freepers who live in our heartland don’t understand how this can be so.
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