Mike Bloomberg, the Democrat who turned Republican because he wanted to be mayor and anyone with a valid New York address could have beaten Herman Badillo, has renounced his ties to the G.O.P. in yet another "subtle" signal that, hey, he might be running for president. The move allows the mayor to skirt some pesky state ballot issues concerning candidates affiliated with the two major parties. Apart from that whole "this is what you will eat, this is how you shall live" thing (oh, and the billions of dollars with which he flooded Republican party coffers), we're not averse to the mayor: He's probably been the most efficient city executive of the last fifty years. But come on, what is he thinking? This is supposed to be a sharp-eyed businessman with a keen sense of what works: Does he really think America wants a Ross Perot with less crazy but more Jew? There's no chance. The guy only got elected in the first place due to the uncertainty after 9/11; you only get one of those in a lifetime. Uh, we hope.

Mayor to GOP: We're through [NYDN]