Non-Candidate Bloomberg Explains (at Length) Super Tuesday Parade

In an article published today in the New York Sun, the founder of a data analysis company called the Symposium Group said that he is conducting nationwide polling for Michael Bloomberg, and that the mayor could win the presidency, even with John McCain in the race.

After the mayor's press conference (where he spoke about the New York Giants victory parade tomorrow and announced the appointment of Seth Pinksky as the new president of the Economic Development Corporation), I asked Bloomberg what the polling costs and what kind of results he's seeing.

“I’m not a candidate," he repeated. "No matter how many times you ask the question, we’re just not going to get involved in that,” he said. “Other questions?”

Earlier, Bloomberg explained why he scheduled the parade for the same day as the presidential primary (which will at least briefly put the mayor in the spotlight on a day the news will be otherwise dominated by the candidates).

“I think it’s the only practical day," Bloomberg said. "Number one, one has nothing to do with the other. Voting doesn’t take more than a couple of minutes, okay? You should vote.

"You don’t have to spend your whole day at the polls. That’s why I think if you want to make it so special, you’re going to have people dropping out of the election process. We want people to go to the polls and vote. And it’s a great day for it. A lot of people have the day off so they can go and vote and work at the polls and that’s what democracy is all about.

"The practical aspects are the Giants wouldn’t be back until sometime today, and by Wednesday they start going to the four corners of the Earth.”