In 2007 and 2008, then-candidate Barack Obama reached out to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg for support, but came up short -- the Republican-turned-Independent mayor chose not to make an endorsement in the last election cycle.
Four years later, however, it appears Obama has done more to impress.
In a surprise announcement, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said Thursday that Hurricane Sandy had reshaped his thinking about the presidential campaign, and he announced that he was endorsing President Obama. [...]
"The devastation that Hurricane Sandy brought to New York City and much of the Northeast -- in lost lives, lost homes and lost business -- brought the stakes of next Tuesday's presidential election into sharp relief," Mr. Bloomberg wrote in an op-ed article for Bloomberg View.
"Our climate is changing," he wrote. "And while the increase in extreme weather we have experienced in New York City and around the world may or may not be the result of it, the risk that it may be -- given the devastation it is wreaking -- should be enough to compel all elected leaders to take immediate action."
As endorsements go, I'd say this is bigger than most. As Jamison Foser cleverly explained, Bloomberg is "basically what the Republican Party would be if it weren't crazy." For the high-profile, independent, billionaire mayor to throw his support to the Democratic president -- after already having endorsed Republicans this cycle -- is therefore no small development.
For that matter, note why he supporting Obama -- the president, unlike his challenger, accepts science, believes global warming is a pressing issue, and believes in taking action to address the climate crisis.
Also note, Mitt Romney really wanted Bloomberg's support to send a signal to independents and moderates.
Maybe if Romney supported FEMA and believed in climate science, today would have gone differently.