Chris Matthews has been touting Michael Bloomberg for a cabinet post like Treasury, arguing that a guy with his obvious talents and desire to serve should be put to use. I worked for Bloomberg and dealt with him from time to time. I have a lot of admiration for his good qualities, though I personally would not want to see him as Treasury secretary because he has some primitive ideas about government finance.
However, the tragic killing of Connecticut schoolchildren today makes some drastic action on gun control necessary and Bloomberg would be the ideal person to head up a special presidential task force bringing together federal, state and local officials to figure out sensible ways to keep automatic weapons out of the hands of unbalanced individuals.
Gun control per se is obviously a vexed issue in this country. But a starting point would be to figure out ways to enforce existing laws, to close the loopholes that allow unscrupulous dealers to sell guns in defiance of background check requirements, and to educate people about the proper use of firearms. This has been one of Bloomberg's biggest issues as New York mayor. He is passionate about it, he is savvy, and he is on the side of the angels on this one.
Someone else can finish out his term as mayor. President Obama should appoint him tomorrow with an executive order creating this task force.
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