MAYOR MIKE SPEAKS OUT – AT 8:31 A.M. ET:  While no Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor Mike Bloomberg of New York is looked on fondly by New Yorkers as a solid mayor who kept the city safe, as compared with the current clown-in-chief, Red Bill de Blasio, who's nostalgic about Fidel Castro.

I've been wondering when Mayor Mike would speak out on national issues.  I've also been wondering whether he would make a run for national office.  Like Donald, he could finance his own campaign.

Now Bloomberg has spoken out, or written out, on the Iran deal.  His column, published by his own news service, is serious, mature, and thoughtful.  From Bloomberg:   

I have deep reservations about the Iranian nuclear agreement, but I -- like many Americans -- am still weighing the evidence for and against it. This is one of the most important debates of our time, one with huge implications for our future and security and the stability of the world. Yet instead of attempting to persuade Americans on the merits, supporters of the deal are resorting to intimidation and demonization, while also grossly overstating their case.

Last week, President Barack Obama said that it was not a difficult decision to endorse the agreement. I couldn't disagree more. This is an extraordinarily difficult decision, and the president's case would be more compelling if he stopped minimizing the agreement's weaknesses and exaggerating its benefits. If he believes that the deal "permanently prohibits Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon," as he said in his speech at American University last Wednesday, then he should take another look at the agreement, whose restrictions end suddenly after 15 years, with some of the constraints on uranium enrichment melting away after just 10.

Overstating the case for the agreement belies the gravity of the issue and does more to breed distrust than win support. Smearing critics is even less effective. In his speech, the president suggested that critics of the deal are the same people who argued for the war in Iraq. The message wasn't very subtle: Those who oppose the agreement are warmongers. (Of course, those who voted for the Iraq War resolution in 2002 include Obama's vice president and secretary of state.)

Then he went further, saying: "It's those hardliners chanting 'Death to America' who have been most opposed to the deal. They're making common cause with the Republican caucus." From a president who often complains about hyperpartisanship, and whose stated aim is to elevate the discourse, the public deserved something better.

COMMENT:  Read the whole thing.  It's one of the best columns I've read on the subject.  Say, you don't think Mike is gearing up to...?

Yah never know.  I mean, who woulda thunk of Trump?

August 12, 2015