Bloomberg Jokes About ’08 Plans

ABC News’ Leigh Hartman Reports: Amid speculation that he is planning an independent run for president, New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg joked Wednesday about a far-fetched scenario that might get him into the White House race.

"If everybody in the world was dead and I was the only one alive, yeah sure," said Bloomberg when asked under what circumstances he would entertain a 2008 run for president.

Bloomberg, who has privately discussed dropping half a billion dollars on a presidential run, fueled speculation about his 2008 plans on Tuesday when he dropped his Republican Party affiliation and became unaffiliated with either major political party.

Bloomberg sought to tamp down speculation that he is getting into the presidential race by noting how crowded the field already is.

"We even have two people from New York who are candidates for president of the United States," said Bloomberg, "I’m not sure the state needs a third."

Bloomberg made his comments at a press conference which was called to celebrate the 50 millionth use of New York’s 311 city hotline.