Possible Pollster Opening

The pollster who worked for Mike Bloomberg during his 2001 and 2005 campaigns would, presumably, have been the logical candidate to play the same roll on the mayor's oft-imagined presidential campaign.

But as Ben reported earlier, the pollster, Doug Schoen, is leaving the power-firm of Penn, Schoen and Berland to go work for Fox News.

Schoen has a "no compete" clause with the firm, meaning he won't be available to crunch numbers for Bloomberg (or any other candidate) if the mayor's presidential fancy ever becomes reality.

UPDATE: It's worth pointing out that Michael Berland, the third major figure at Schoen's old company, played a pivotal role in Bloomberg's elections and is, hypothetically, available if Bloomberg 2008 ever materializes.

FURTHER UPDATE: An informed source notes that Berland may have a similar no-compete clause, taking him out of consideration. (Penn is a pollster for Hillary.)