Michael Bloomberg

As presidential candidates battle in New Hampshire and beyond, an older generation of prominent politicians is bemoaning the whole polarized scene -- grousing that could encourage New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg to jump into the race and transform the political landscape. On Monday, a bipartisan group of these elders is meeting at the University of Oklahoma to urge candidates to set a less divisive tone and stop catering to their narrow political bases.

Here's the billion-dollar question about this city's billionaire mayor: Is he going to run for president, or what? The discussion is playing out on tabloid pages, on radio and television talk shows, and in cafes and bookstores across New York, where everyone seems to have an opinion about the presidential election. And if Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg jumps into the race, they say it will get even more interesting. "The conversation is, 'Oh, my God, is he going to do this?'

New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has begun detailed polling and sophisticated voter analysis in all 50 states as he considers an independent bid for president, associates said Wednesday. The information gathering quietly started months ago, and when the analysis begins shortly, it will provide the data-obsessed billionaire businessman with the information he will use to decide whether to launch a run for the White House.

The presidential fortunes of Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg may hinge on the country's slipping into a recession that would make voters more receptive to a self-made billionaire selling himself as a pragmatic, nonpartisan fiscal manager, economists and political analysts say.

New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg met Friday with the ballot access expert and campaign manager for H. Ross Perot's third-party presidential bid, a sign of the multibillionaire's seriousness about a possible independent run for president. Bloomberg met privately with Clay Mulford, who is well-versed in third-party ballot access, and served as campaign manager for Perot, who sought the presidency in 1992 and 1996, according to an individual close to the mayor.

After two years of playing coy about his presidential ambitions, New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg declared in a newspaper opinion piece Wednesday that he would not run for president as an independent and said he might support the candidate who "takes an independent, nonpartisan approach."

New York's City Council on Thursday opened the door to a third term for billionaire Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who has argued that his business and political experience is needed to lead the city through its financial challenges. After a day of debate, the council approved legislation allowing city officeholders -- including council members -- to serve three consecutive four-year terms. Bloomberg's second term is up at the end of next year.

New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on Wednesday urged a Senate panel to reopen the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund for sick ground zero responders and said the city needed $150 million each year to continue to treat them. Thousands of the 50,000 rescue and recovery workers are being monitored and treated for serious respiratory illnesses at special clinics in New York City, Long Island and New Jersey.

Voter dissatisfaction with some top-tier presidential contenders and with extreme Republican and Democratic partisanship has spawned a Web-based movement to field a bipartisan ticket. Discontent also has fueled speculation about a possible self-financed bid by billionaire New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. Chatter about a potential independent Bloomberg campaign picked up steam this week after maverick Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.

washington -- New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg quit the Republican Party on Tuesday, fueling speculation that the billionaire will shake up the presidential race by running as an independent. Bloomberg has been moving to raise his national profile for months, drawing attention to his support for gun control, stem cell research and steps to stop global warming. Term limits bar him from seeking reelection as mayor.