Another option being floated is a run for governor. That would be a race worth watching: The recently installed Governor David Paterson has already overcome the divisiveness created by the disgraced Eliot Spitzer, and should he choose to run for reelection, he would be a formidable candidate. But think about what Mr. Bloomberg brings to the table: As an independent, he could run equally well among Republicans and Democrats. He could do for the state what he’s done for the city: clean up the fiscal mess; modernize the bureaucracy; revitalize the upstate economy by making intelligent investments instead of blowing tax dollars on politically motivated projects; and create a new climate to attract young, bright individuals into state government. And unlike Mr. Spitzer’s ultimately fruitless promises of vigorous reform, Mr. Bloomberg would stand a good chance of getting it done: He operates as a manager, through artful consensus backed up by steely resolve, unlike Mr. Spitzer’s prosecutorial approach.
But would the mayor want to do it? After all, he is known as a man of the city; the financial engines of big business, the big wheels of philanthropy (of which he is among the biggest), the galas and the dinners—Mr. Bloomberg psychically inhabits New York City to an intense degree.
But think about the legacy. A few years watching Netflix in the governor’s mansion instead of dinners at the Four Seasons might be a small price to pay to fill the shoes of Teddy Roosevelt and F.D.R., not to mention being the first mayor of New York in modern memory to succeed in going on from City Hall to higher office.