I think this was pretty much expected, given McCain being virtually certain to get the GOP nod, and inertia favoring Obama’s change-based campaign among the Dems, but this makes it official. Quoting Political Ticker:
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who has publicly flirted with the idea of a run for the White House as an independent, says he will not run for president.
“I listened carefully to those who encouraged me to run, but I am not — and will not be — a candidate for president,” Bloomberg wrote in an op-ed posted on the New York Times Web site Wednesday night in advance of Thursday’s paper.
I would have loved to see a viable candidate run up the middle between polarized parties…but I think the political landscape is shaping up in a way that seems to be depolarized…or at least is seeing the axis of polarity shift.