NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg endorses Obama

By Richard K. Barry

Well done, Mr. Mayor.

In a surprise move, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said on Thursday Hurricane Sandy helped him make up his mind that Barack Obama was a better choice for the country.

In an editorial at Bloomberg, he wrote:

The devastation that Hurricane Sandy brought to New York City and much of the Northeast — in lost lives, lost homes and lost business — brought the stakes of next Tuesday's presidential election into sharp relief.

Our climate is changing. And while the increase in extreme weather we have experienced in New York City and around the world may or may not be the result of it, the risk that it may be — given the devastation it is wreaking — should be enough to compel all elected leaders to take immediate action.

Ultimately, Mr. Bloomberg seems to have reasoned that with the stakes so high it might be a good idea to endorse the guy who believes in science.

In the endorsement, Bloomberg cited several things Obama has done to combat climate change, but he also cited other reasons like the president's support for abortion rights and same-sex couples -- important issues for the mayor.

Both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama had been seeking the mayor's endorsement, but the mayor noted that however sensible Romney had been in the past on issues like immigration, illegal guns, abortion rights and health care, he "reversed course on all of them."

Climate change may well have been what swayed Bloomberg ultimately, but not knowing or trusting what Mitt Romney stands for at any given moment seems also to have been a major factor. 

I hope others take heed.

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)