Last night because of Mike Bloomberg’s entrance into the 2020 race to become the nominee for the Democratic Party, I watched the debate. Within a few minutes, I was forcibly reminded why I historically avoid watching these so- called debates. That is, Mike Bloomberg’s opponents instead of focusing on their platforms spent the time castigating him.
Instead of the candidates talking about important issues such as entitlements, foreign affairs, infrastructure projects, education, the discussions focused on flaws.
Instead of Bloomberg being praised for creating a company that hires hundreds of thousands of people and his excellent record as mayor, he was vilified for being a billionaire.
Unfortunately, according to the media discussion of the debates, Bloomberg did poorly. Commentators said Bloomberg was unprepared. In defending Bloomberg I would argue that he was prepared to discuss the important challenges facing this country, not the irresponsible charges waged against him.
Elizabeth Warren claimed that Bloomberg acted inappropriately toward women. She highlighted settlements that occurred at his company that are under the veil of secrecy. The fact is that Bloomberg himself was never charged with inappropriate behavior, but rather his staff. Also, Bloomberg was trying to protect the reputation of his employees. In today’s world, someone accused of sexual misconduct would have a difficult time getting a job. On the positive side, Bloomberg pointed out that women hold percentagewise high levels of positions both at his company and at the City of New York when he was mayor.
When Mike and I worked at Solomon Brothers women held no executive positions. That his advocacy for women represents a salient departure from the male-dominated world that I entered.
