This is coming from the Wall Street Journal:

As Democratic and Republican presidential hopefuls stumped in Iowa and New Hampshire Monday, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg was in China talking about entrepreneurship. The setting was different, but the goal may have been the same.

Those close to Mr. Bloomberg said the 65-year-old billionaire is considering a White House bid, despite his repeated denials. Moreover, friends and advisers said, developments make a candidacy more conceivable.

Shifts atop the polls for both parties in early-voting states suggest uncertainty among some voters about the current crop of candidates, while an increasingly nasty campaign could badly bruise whomever comes out on top, Mr. Bloomberg’s supporters said. Gridlock in Congress could open the door for Mr. Bloomberg’s nonpartisan message. At the same time, national polls show voters worrying more about the economy and less about Iraq — a trend that plays to Mr. Bloomberg’s strengths.

This doesn’t come as a surprise to me. I have noticed he’s been running tons of Google ads, specifically on this website, about his views on non-partisanship and linking to his website, which looks very presidential.

By all accounts, Mr. Bloomberg remains a long-shot. He is an independent — a longtime Democrat, he ran for mayor as a Republican and then left that party in June — and no third-party candidate has ever won the presidency. He often jokes about the electoral chances of a 5-foot-7-inch Jewish divorcé. His record of raising taxes, banning smoking in bars and clamping down on guns could hurt him among libertarian Republicans and independents who are among his likely supporters.

Long shot indeed. I just don’t think he’s as popular nationally as he may be in New York. Do Iowans really care about Mike Bloomberg? I live in upstate New York and I don’t really care about him.

Either way, the scenario I heard, which makes sense, is that he could announce in March of 2008. This way the primaries are over and he could basically capture the news cycles. Furthermore, he has enough of his own money to get on all 50 state ballots.

We shall see.