12 Years Would Be Enough, Bloomy Says

If Mayor Michael Bloomberg wins a third term this fall, will it serve as impetus to run for a fourth? No way, the billionaire says.

"N-O. Under any circumstances," Bloomberg swore one day after his wishy-washy response to the question sparked speculation he may already be looking ahead to 2013.

Perhaps Bloomberg was vague, but he thought "it was a joke" when the reporter asked him whether he'd consider running for a fourth term, according to the Daily News.

"I'll work very hard for a third term, but 12 years would be quite enough," Bloomberg said during his weekly appearance on WOR's "Rambling with Gambling" show. 

Bloomberg, who had always approved term limits before it behooved him to change the law, exhibited no ambiguity in his response to the question this time around. He was adamant that a third term, should he win it, would be his last.

"I can tell you this: I will not be mayor for a fourth term," Bloomberg said.

Why not run again? Bloomy thinks he might be getting too old.

"I would be 71 ... not that there's anything wrong with 71," he said. "But when I'm 71, I will have a different career."

People also have a tendency to get bored and there's only so much one can do in a specific job, Bloomberg added.

Bloomberg sparked the hubbub on Thursday. When asked whether he'd run for a fourth term, the mayor responded that, "the law wouldn't allow it."

Well, up until recently, the law didn't allow anyone in City Hall to run for three terms, either. Bloomberg got that edict changed, so no one would put it past him to try to get the law changed again to allow him to run for four terms.

Nor would anyone put it past Bloomberg to run for a fourth term in 2013, despite saying he's not interested at this juncture. That's what his staff said in January 2008 and, lo and behold, he's running again.

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