2013.09 - New York (Magazine) - In Conversation: Michael Bloomberg
Interviewer: If you’re an executive, can you really rule out running for president in 2016?
Bloomberg: Yes. It’s just impossible. I am 100 percent convinced that you cannot in this country win an election unless you are the nominee of one of the two major parties. The second thing I am convinced of is that I could not get through the primary process with either party.And, incidentally, I think I’ve got a better job than the president’s. He’s got a very tough Congress, and he’s removed from the day-to-day stuff. My job is the day-to-day stuff. That’s what I’m good at—or at least what I think I’m good at.
2015.07.29 - Bloomberg News - Blankfein: Favorite Billionaire Not Running for President
Bloomberg: We keep thinking the wrong thing when we pick the elected leaders, particularly the presidents of the United States, governors of the states, and mayors of the cities: These are not policy jobs. These are executive jobs. You have to pick somebody that knows how to run the railroad: blocking and tackling; making sure when you throw the switch the lights come on, and when you turn the faucet the water comes out; at the federal level you've gotta make sure that we control our borders and we get the right leadership to get the right weapons for our troops, and get great people to come and work as secretaries at all the different cabinet offices. Policy is terribly important, but no executive, no president / governor / or mayor can have all the policies themselves. They've gotta get people to come and help them formulate them on all the other topics. That's what an executive does.
It's interesting to compare Bloomberg's quote with a quote from Obama in 2007/2008:
2007/2008 - MSNBC - Round table with Obama, Clinton, and John Edwards
Moderator: Senator Obama you gave an interview to the Reno Gazette Journal and you said, "We all have strengths and weaknesses". You said one of your weaknesses is, quote, "I'm not an operating officer." Do the American people want someone in the White House who _is_ an operating officer?
Obama: Well, I think what I was describing was how I view the presidency. Now, being President is not making sure that schedules are being run properly or the paperwork is being shuffled effectively. It involves having a vision for where the country needs to go. It involves having the capacity to bring together the best people and being able to spark the kind of debate about _how_ we're going to solve healthcare, _how_ we're going to solve energy, _how_ we are going to deliver good jobs and good wages, _how_ we're going to keep people in their homes here in Nevada, and then being able to mobilize and inspire the American people to get behind that agenda for change. That's the kind of leadership that I've shown in the past, that's the kind of leadership that I intend to show as President of the United States. So what's needed is sound judgment, a vision for the future, the capacity to tap into the hopes and dreams of the American people, and mobilize them to push aside those special interests and lobbyists and forces that are standing in the way of real change. And making sure that you have a government that reflects the decency and the generosity of the American people; that's the kind of leadership that I believe I can provide.
Trump and Reagan were both very familiar to US citizens before they ran for President. I suspect it may become more common in the future for non-politicians who are widely known to run for President, as they seem to have a competitive advantage.
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