NEW YORK CITY — Mayor Michael Bloomberg has finally granted his coveted endorsement to President Barack Obama.
After months of wooing and tight lips, Bloomberg said he has been swayed to the president's camp just a few days before the election by the devastation of Hurricane Sandy and Republican nominee Mitt Romney's shift to the right.
In an op-ed on his media company's opinion page, Bloomberg wrote that, although he is deeply disappointed in Obama, he believes Obama is still the better man for the job.
"If he listens to people on both sides of the aisle and builds the trust of moderates, he can fulfill the hope he inspired four years ago and lead our country toward a better future for my children and yours," Bloomberg wrote.
The mayor also expressed his disappointment in Romney.
"[Romney] understands that America was built on the promise of equal opportunity, not equal results. In the past, he has also taken sensible positions on immigration, illegal guns, abortion rights and health care," he wrote.
"But he has reversed course on all of them and is even running against the health care model he signed into law in Massachusetts."
Obama released a statement in response to the endorsement Thursday.
“While we may not agree on every issue, Mayor Bloomberg and I agree on the most important issues of our time," Obama said.
"I look forward to thanking him in person," Obama added. "But for now, he has my continued commitment that this country will stand by New York in its time of need. And New Yorkers have my word that we will recover, we will rebuild, and we will come back stronger."
