America's mayor runs a distant second in New York

Although Rudy Giuliani runs as America's mayor in the rest of the country (based on his leadership in NY on 9/11), he's not nearly as popular in the city itself.

Forty-six percent of those polled said Bloomberg would make a better president than Giuliani while 29 percent chose Giuliani over Bloomberg, according to the poll conducted for the Daily News by Blum & Weprin Associates.those surveyed said Bloomberg was a better mayor than Giuliani, who was widely praised for his leadership following the September 11 attacks.

46-29! I wonder if he's cursing the day he threw his weight behind Bloomberg to win.

Running for president is becoming a billionaire's game

This story, if true, is extremely troubling for those who prefer a representative government:

"He has set aside $1 billion to go for it," a long-time business adviser to Mr. Bloomberg tells The Times. "The thinking about where it will come from and do we have it is over, and the answer is yes, we can do it."

The presidency is already virtually cut-off from the middle and professional classes in this country, being a game for millionaires and their closest friends. This is why we get the constant concern for repeal of the estate tax, or flattening the income tax, but little interest in lowering those taxes that take the biggest chunk out of the typical American's paycheck.

h/t Tapped