Obama Calls Bloomberg 'Outstanding'

Barack Obama referred to Michael Bloomberg as “the outstanding mayor of New York City" during a bill-signing ceremony in Washington today.

It's not the sort of praise any Democrat can easily dismiss.

Obama was speaking about the new legislation, named for Ted Kennedy, which encourages national service with various incentives--for example, it greatly expands the AmeriCorps program.

Yesterday, Bloomberg announced his own companion program; Caroline Kennedy appeared at the event.

Obama isn't the first president to heap praise on Bloomberg. Earlier this month, President Bill Clinton said Bloomberg was doing "a great job."