Okay, so Michael Bloomberg just announced that he’s no longer a Republican. On the one hand, I say: Who can blame the guy? On the other hand, what this portends is the not unreal possibility of an all-New-York presidential contest. Hillary Clinton has a solid lead among Democratic contenders, and Rudy Giuliani remains atop the Republican field. Enter Bloomberg as an independent candidate who can self-finance Perot-style, and it’s a subway series with trains colliding.

Bloomberg was a lifelong Democrat, and I thought his switch at the time of his mayoral bid was a bit cynical about the way the process works. He’s never been a Republican in anything but label, and it seems the label was a convenient way to dodge a bruising Democratic primary in the first NYC mayor’s race he won. Still, he’s proven that he’s a competent executive, and with Vilsack out and flubs like Bill Richardson has been making lately, the Democrats don’t have a strong governor anywhere near the front of their bench. Bloomberg remains as coy as Gore, though.

Speaking of which, on the flip side of the coin, of course, is the all-Tennessee contest some see brewing between the unannounced Al Gore and the barely announced Fred Thompson.

This post was written by Freddie