Michael Bloomberg, the departing Mayor of New York City, says he is not running for president. But this is the man who said he was dropping membership in the Democratic party and becoming a Republican (when it was convenient to ride on the coat tails of the outgoing Mayor) and who, yesterday. announced he has dropped his membership in the Republican party because it is more convenient to be an "Independent."

Just a day after the billionaire mayor of New York City quit the Republican Party, his clear flirtation with a White House run was kept alive by a frenzy of speculation on the what-ifs of a prospective third-party bid.

Those who follow presidential politics closely offered a panoply of opinions on how Bloomberg might scramble the calculations of Democrats and Republicans — even as they expressed doubt that Gotham’s lame-duck mayor could win the White House as an independent.

Some thought a Bloomberg campaign would be a disaster for Democrats, opening the door for a GOP victory despite the dismal poll ratings of the current Republican president.

Others said Republicans would be hurt, especially if they nominate Rudolph W. Giuliani, the man Bloomberg replaced at New York City Hall.

Still others conceded that they had no clue which candidates Bloomberg would help or hurt.

You’ve just got to love politics for this wall-to-wall conjecture underscores the volatility of the rapidly evolving 2008 campaign and a the hunger among many Americans for a departure from politics as usually practiced.

Most of the hypothesizing ignored the huge obstacles facing Bloomberg — or any candidate who tries to win the White House outside the traditional two-party system: the simple fact that the political system is heavily stacked against an independent candidate, in everything from ballot-access laws at the state level to the electoral college, which all but ensures perpetuation of the two-party system.