Remember that breakfast meeting between Senator Obama and Mayor Bloomberg last month? There could be more to this story than a (possible) discussion about an endorsement.
Earlier this week, I received a tip from a reader who was told an "open secret" by a close and credible friend of Mike Bloomberg that the New York mayor is ready to announce his independent run for president as early as this February.
However, Mayor Bloomberg will only run for president... if Senator Clinton wins big in the January and February primaries. But if it looks like Senator Obama will win the nomination, the mayor won't run -- clearing the way for an unfettered Obama campaign in the general.
The tipster told me that his Bloomberg source said, "[Bloomberg] has a personal compunction about running against the first black presidential candidate. However, he has less than no love for Hillary or some of her close associates, and feels he would be well-positioned in a three-way race against her and any Republican. This is quite definite."
Take this second-hand information for what it's worth. It's a rumor. But I think it's a very plausible rumor.