A tale of two Republicans

The mayoral race in New York City, to which I'm frankly not paying tons of attention, brings up an interesting contrast between two Republicans: Michael Bloomberg and George Bush. They are both opportunists who entered office in only a marginally democratic fashion: GWB by subverting the 2000 election, and Bloomberg by determining that his opening was in the Republican party and essentially buying his way in. They also both see themselves as business leaders running corporations.

The similarities largely end there, however. Where GWB's "CEO state" is one born of incompetent crony capitalism -- and recall GWB is from an old-money family -- Bloomberg's administration is by most measures a highly capable meritocracy. (Bloomberg himself is a far richer man than the patrician Bush; he was a lower-middle-class Jewish kid from Boston who made his fortune all by himself.) Where W's near-dictatorial policies are informed by the most fanatical reactionaries to be found in the country, Bloomberg is relatively liberal, and governs by consensus. Bloomberg certainly has made some major, crony-capitalism-type gaffes, the (fortunately) now-scuttled Jets Stadium among them, but he mostly, at least to me, seems to be a reasonable, equable mayor.