Buoyed by the still unsettled field, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is growing increasingly enchanted with the idea of an independent presidential bid, and his aides are aggressively laying the groundwork for him to run.That might not turn out as badly as it sounds.
He'd peel "moderate" votes away from the leading Republican and Democrat pretenders, and make an independent run by Ron Paul much more winnable. Plus, his cowardice in taking a stand on the Iraq war means the anti-war crowd would have nowhere else to turn.