Just when you thought it was safe to call the mayor, well, Mr. Mayor, one of his key aides reveals that Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama gave Mike Bloomberg a ring yesterday.
Just, you know, to say hi.
Oh, and maybe to talk about being his vice-president.
Or maybe not.
Wink. Wink.
“Certainly you could joke that Obama’s call was a fundraising call yesterday,” Deputy Mayor Kevin Sheekey quipped on New York One’s Inside City Hall tonight. “The man (Bloomberg) has the ability to finance a campaign. I don’t think that’s why you choose a vice president.”
Sheekey spent months and a lot of the billionaire mayor’s money laying the groundwork for a possible presidential campaign. And since Bloomberg announced in an op-ed in the New York Times this week that he’s not going to run, Sheekey and former mayoral pollster Douglas Schoen have been trying to sell the vice-president scenario to anyone who will listen.
"I think it was a reasonably short call, you know, I was briefed,” Sheekey said the conversation between Obama and Bloomberg. “I was told they had a nice call and I spoke to the mayor after they had breakfast a few months ago.”
Karla Schuster
“Back to Obama -- you were the one asking about an Obama ticket. I think the mayor is the ultimate swing voter. He is someone who the country is looking at to find out where they will go. He is one of the true independents in the country," Sheekey said.
Sheekey, often called the Deputy Mayor for Presidential Politics, may well be working on a new nickname – Deputy Mayor for Vice-Presidential Politics. Over and over, Sheekey – like his boss has – refused to answer directly when asked if Bloomberg would accept an offer to be vice-president.
“I think everyone takes seriously the call to serve, particularly at that level,” Sheekey said, adding when asked if the mayor could make a difference in the second-highest office, “Yea, I think Mike Bloomberg can make a huge difference…you have a guy who’s been able to work with both parties.”
And in Kevin Sheekey, you have a guy who clearly needs a hobby.