Michael Bloomberg now the biggest spending politician in US history

“Bloomberg is betting on voters with an elastic approach to the law,” says this morning’s New York Times. The mayor of New York City is barrelling towards a third term by undoing the two-term limit twice approved by voters, the paper says. His nearest contender, the Democrat William Thompson, is 16% behind according to some polls. Thompson is using the two term issue to set himself apart. The mayor used to believe fervently in a two-term limit — until it became inconvenient for him. His “complete and utter disregard for the democratic process,” Mr. Thompson said, “was a defining moment for all of us…Does the richest man in New York City get to live by one set of rules while the rest of us live by another?”

The Times of London has picked up on another New York Times story regarding the mayoral race: Bloomberg’s election spending. The founder of Bloomberg L.P., a financial software services company, has spent $85 million on his re-election and that sum is expected to rise to $110 million by the end of the campaign. Compare that to Mitt Romney who spent $44 million in his bid for the Republican nomination for the White House…

In total, Bloomberg has spent a quarter of a billion dollars throughout his political career making him the US politician who has spent most of his own money on getting elected. I suppose when you’re worth $6 billion, it's just pocket change. William Thomspon has characterized the spending as "obscene".

Other stories covered in today’s international papers:

Le Quotidien (Sénégal)

Senegal’s President Abdoulaye Wade is embroiled in a corruption scandal with the International Monetary Fund. Did he arrange for a gift of €133,000 to be give to the organisation’s representative in the country? Dominique Strauss Kahn has written to Wade asking for an explanation.

China Daily
Two online websites are arranging the illegal sale of kidneys in China with big fees being paid to the middlemen.

The Guardian
Fidel Castro’s sister has revealed in a book how she operated as a CIA agent codenamed Donna.