Bloomberg: Tea Party is a 'boomlet'

In a wide-ranging interview published Saturday, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg characterized the recent increase in Tea-Party rancor as a temporary development in American politics.

"I think there boomlets come along when the public is dissatisfied," he told the New York Times. "There was a Ross Perot boomlet, there was a John McCain boomlet, there’s the Tea Party boomlet."

"Anger, however, is not a government strategy," he added. "It’s not a way to govern."

Bloomberg's skepticism of the Tea Party movement is consistent with his record of endorsements this election cycle. He has backed centrist Republicans and Democrats who he deems capable of compromise — Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) in his reelection bid, Republican Mark Kirk of Illinois and Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) for Senate, and Democrat John Hickenlooper for governor of Colorado.

"I’m proud to support candidates from any party who can solve our nation’s problems & are not bound by rigid ideology," he tweeted Sunday, linking to the NYT article. 

Some have speculated that Bloomberg's wading in to national races suggests he's interested in higher office, though he firmly denies interest in joining President Obama's cabinet. 

"I don't know what the next thing [after mayor] is," he said. "I am not an adviser; I am not an analyst ... I am a doer." 

Bloomberg was careful in his comment on Obama's job performance, saying that he knows many people who feel estranged from the White House.

"I feel very strongly we should not be — success should not be frowned on, and I have lots of friends, wealthy people, made a lot of money, were big Obama supporters, gave him money, raised money for him, who are not happy now," he said. "They all say the same thing: 'I knew I was going to have to pay more taxes. Somebody’s got to do it, and I’ve got the money,'" he said. "'But I didn’t expect to be vilified.'"