Bloomberg officially not running

Editorial puts rumors to rest:

After two years of playing coy about his presidential ambitions, Mayor Michael Bloomberg declared in a newspaper editorial Wednesday that he will not run for president but might support the candidate who "takes an independent, nonpartisan approach." Unlike Ralph, umm, what's his name again? Bloomberg would have been a credible and formidable candidate.

The 66-year-old billionaire businessman, who aides had said was prepared to spend $1 billion to run as an independent, wrote in an editorial on The New York Times' Web site that he will work to "steer the national conversation away from partisanship and toward unity; away from ideology and toward common sense; away from sound bites and toward substance."

"I listened carefully to those who encouraged me to run, but I am not _ and will not be _ a candidate for president," he wrote.

In the Times editorial, Bloomberg wrote that while he is not running, the race is too important for him to stay completely out.

"And so I have changed my mind in one area," he said. "If a candidate takes an independent, nonpartisan approach _ and embraces practical solutions that challenge party orthodoxy _ I'll join others in helping that candidate win the White House."

Putting his endorsement _ and wealth _ behind one of the candidates could make a significant difference. And Bloomberg, a Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-independent, has ties to Obama, Clinton and Republican Arizona Sen. John McCain.