THE NEW YORK TIMES: He no longer brags about his dating exploits or shows off his impolitic side. He has largely reined in his temper with reporters and loosened his manner with voters. But Michael R. Bloomberg, New York’s once-improbable mayor, would still be a highly unlikely presidential contender.
A zealot for privacy, he slips away to Bermuda on weekends to practice his golf game. Divorced with a steady companion, he frequently indulges a louche sense of humor, joking at a dinner one night that if Salma Hayek joined him at the official mayor’s residence, he might actually live there. And he still likes to end his evenings with a nightcap out, leading to the occasional public admission of having had perhaps a merlot or two too many.
New Yorkers may have become accustomed to the eccentricities of the billionaire information mogul who took an unorthodox path to public service. But, as he has thrust himself more fully into national politics, even Mr. Bloomberg has questioned whether the rest of the country is ready for him. An Eccentric Mayor Raises His Profile (more)
Mark Alexander
