JOB INTERVIEW? – AT 8:37 A.M. ET:  President Obama and Mayor Mike Bloomberg of New York have had their golf outing.  But what was it really about?  From The Politico:

VINEYARD HAVEN, Mass. — President Barack Obama hit the links Friday with New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, mixing business with his summer vacation on Martha’s Vineyard.

Obama and Bloomberg huddled inside the clubhouse at the Vineyard Golf Club for about 15 minutes to discuss the economy before heading to the driving range, the White House said.

It’s the first time Obama and Bloomberg have met since the controversy over the planned construction of an Islamic center near ground zero in Manhattan. Bloomberg strongly supports the Park51 center, but Obama triggered a storm of controversy when he said proponents have a right to proceed with project, and then seemed to question the wisdom of building it.

COMMENT:  Bloomberg has grown increasingly bizarre.  After the attempting terrorist attack in Times Square, he speculated that the bomber might have been someone who just didn't like Obamacare.

No, I mean it.  He said that.  He also meddles in people's diets, pushing all kinds of regulations as to what mere citizens may be served in New York. 

And, of course, undoubtedly dear to Obama's heart, Bloomberg not only supports the Ground Zero mosque, but has declared that those opposed to it should be "ashamed" of themselves. 

He used to be a Republican.  Then he became an independent.  I wonder what he is now, or can be persuaded to be.

But one speculates on whether this was more than a golf game.  Although Bloomberg was elected to a third term as mayor last November, his popularity has dropped since then.  With the economy in the kind of shape it is, Obama might be looking for a new secretary of the Treasury.  Who better, some might say, than a billionaire who knows how to make money?

Just speculating.  But I doubt Obama invited Bloomberg just to have a golf partner who likes mosques.

August 28, 2010