Bloomberg rejects talk of ’08 presidential bid

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg Thursday rejected speculation that his travels to big electoral vote states is part of an effort to test the waters for a presidential bid.

It’s “just an accident” that his speeches take him to “big states” where there are a lot of events, Bloomberg told ABC’s “Good Morning America.”

Bloomberg repeated that he has no plans to run for president in 2008 and said he doesn’t want the vice presidency, either. He said he had 890 days left in his mayoral term — “but who’s counting” — and would serve them all, which would take him to the end of 2009.

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“I’ve got a job and it’s a great job, and I’m going to finish this job,” Bloomberg said. “And my next career is going to be in philanthropy.”

Speculation that the billionaire mayor would launch a self-financed presidential bid swelled last month when Bloomberg announced that he was leaving the Republican Party to become politically independent. He also has been traveling the country speaking about issues, including a speech on education at the National Urban League conference in St. Louis on Wednesday.

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“People assume you are running for president when you just say, ’Look these are issues that I care about,”’ Bloomberg said. “Why should only presidential candidates focus on that? I think we all have an obligation.”

Bloomberg said other than injecting his views on the issues, he would keep out of the race and would not endorse any candidate. “Because I have to work with everybody — with whoever gets elected,” he said.

And what would it take to win his vote? “What I don’t hear, which I’d love to hear some candidate say: ’I don’t know,”’ Bloomberg said. “No candidate or elected official can have an answer for everything, every time.”