Beltway Journalists Express Interest in New Beltway Journalism Outfit
Bloomberg Politics, which just launched, is a new politics news site owned by Bloomberg News, which is owned by an ex-politician named Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg Politics covers politics. Other people who cover politics are pleased with the politics that Bloomberg Politics covers. Politics!
The people who run Bloomberg Politics are excited. Bloomberg Politics is like a baby, but not like your daddy when he was a baby:
Our baby has arrived: http://t.co/OxwyWl77Yl. #meatybeatybigandbouncy
— John Heilemann (@jheil) October 6, 2014
Today we launch this brand new Bloomberg Politics. This ain't your grandpa's politics site: http://t.co/tVPyufwkr2
— David Ingold (@DavidIngold) October 6, 2014
And people who run Washington political coverage that's much like Bloomberg Politics' coverage are excited, too.
Congrats, @MarkHalperin, @jheil, @Justin_B_Smith and team on @bpolitics launch http://t.co/rLbrZHPU4j
— Ron Fournier (@ron_fournier) October 6, 2014
Bookmark alert! The new Bloomberg Politics site is up and running. http://t.co/a7TYTJFmJi
— Chris Cillizza (@TheFix) October 6, 2014
What sorts of politics are the political journalists of Bloomberg Politics politicking? The site has a rundown of "The 8 Most Important Cases in the New Supreme Court Term," which is so important that Buzzfeed's Supreme Court reporter writes a similar rundown every term. His rundown this term has nine cases. But! It was published 43 minutes after Bloomberg Politics' rundown on Sunday Night, so it seems fair to say that Bloomberg Politics has already proven its ability to Win Sunday Night.
There is also a story titled "Scott Brown Aims for One-Two Punch: New week, new ads, New Hampshire," which is not a story so much as a post conjecturing on the effectiveness of Scott Brown's new campaign ads, which are included in the post. So it's not a post so much as an advertisement for Scott Brown campaign advertisements. Scott Brown, a Republican Massachusetts pickup truck enthusiast, trails by 7 to 10 points in the latest polls of his New Hampshire Senate race.
There is also a story titled "WATCH: Nancy Pelosi Reviews Ice Cream: Her go-to breakfast," although the headline on the actual story page reads, simply: "Nancy Pelosi grabs a spoon." Here are some stills from the video.
But the big marquee story of Bloomberg Politics on this, the day of its birth, Bloomsday, is an earth-shattering political revelation that will make the election of 2016 look like 2012—the Mayan apocalypse of 2012, not the election of 2012:
Here is how Mark Halperin's story begins: "Some insiders say he's already running. Others says [sic] he's definitely not. Here's the reality, distilled from over a dozen discussions with those who know Bush really well."
Here is the very next thing Halperin writes in his story: "There are currently two factions in American presidential politics: Those who are absolutely sure Jeb Bush will run for president in 2016 and those who are absolutely sure he won't."
Later, even though "three premium-grade Republican sources confided to me with utmost certainty that Bush is in fact already running," we learn that "Jeb himself still hasn't decided." We also learn that if Jeb decided to run, he could decisively beat everyone, including Hillary Clinton, who also still hasn't decided:
Finally, the most macro significant question for any Republican putting him or herself forward to beat Clinton is this: What states can you win that Romney lost? For Bush, the easy answer includes Florida, Ohio, Colorado, Iowa, Wisconsin, New Hampshire, and Virginia. If he runs a strong campaign, Bush could also compete in California and possibly New Jersey and Michigan.
Here are the results of several recent polls in which hypothetical candidate Hillary Clinton savages hypothetical candidate Jeb Bush by hypothetical double-digits. Here is one in which Hillary beats Jeb handily in his home state of Florida.
Here is where I would insert a link to a story about a non-insider that America hasn't yet considered considered as a candidate for the presidency, but Bloomberg Politics hasn't written that story.
Still, let us be happy for Halperin and his Bloomberg Politics co-anchor John Heilemann, because Washington is happy for them.