David Boren

Right after Michael Bloomberg left the bipartisan panel in Oklahoma, the event organizer, David Boren, said he didn’t think the mayor had a burning desire to be president.

“Some people might see it as a negative, some people might see it as a positive,” said Bloomberg’s former communication’s director Bill Cunningham, who now works at Dan Klores Communications. (Bloomberg’s spokesman Stu Loeser declined to comment on Boren's remarks.)

“Hillary’s camp attacked Obama for saying in first grade he wanted to be president of the United States. They tried to make some kind of life-long ambition thing, a negative,” he said.

"Throughout history, parts of the world have turned to people who didn’t necessarily exhibit that burning desire to be in public life. I.E. Cincinnatus in Rome, from which we get the city, Cincinnati."

I've joined a bunch of New York reporters sitting in the audience right in front of Michael Bloomberg at the bipartisan panel at the University of Oklahoma this morning.

The media outlets here to cover the event include: CNN Lou Dobbs Tonight, The Los Angeles Times, Factcheck.org, Unite for Mike, Al Jazeera, Neo-Indypendents Magazine, BBC World News America, Telemundo, Neither Liberal Nor Conservative Be (we're not sure either), Newsweek and the Oklahoma Historical Society.

Another tidbit from the scene: alphabetical seating means there probably won't be any suggestive photographs of Bloomberg and his much-discussed potential vice-presidential candidate Chuck Hagel...or at least not during the panel.  read more »

Here's Michael Bloomberg last night in Norman, bearing a gift for University of Oklahoma president David Boren, who's hosting a bi-partisan dinner and forum.

“This has no trans-fats?” Boren asked.

It doesn’t, assured Bloomberg.

Nothing to see here, folks!

Michael Bloomberg arrived for dinner at the Oklahoma home of former Senator David Boren wearing red--the University of Oklahoma school's color--and bearing three boxes of Junior's cheesecake.

"I always bring a house warming gift when I visit someone and I can't think of anything more appropriate than three Junior's cheesecakes," Bloomberg told Boren, who greeted him in front of a mostly New York media crowd.

"We're really glad to have you," Boren said.  read more »