Interesting,Obama beating Romney and Perry in this poll.In my opinion he does it in the general election as well
Ron Paul bests Obama in latest poll: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Ron-Paul-Bests-Obama-in-bw-3821734650.html?x=0
Formidable to whom? If he ran against Obama for a primary, I think you're right. Apart from that, he's not really known outside the north east. He's also way, way too liberal.
He would become widely known of course with more media exposure, so I don't think that is the issue. He is not going to run against Obama. Or perhaps I should say that that would really shock me. We have to remember that the country is essential split 50/50. The Obama election was an exception it seems. The elections preceding that were extremely close with Bush having actually lost his first election to Gore by popular vote and by electoral college vote (Fl) by the smallest of of margins. Then Bush won re-election by a very small margin again, one state (Ohio)! I don't believe Bloomberg is at all too liberal to get elected, but certainly he is too liberal to attract the right most wing of the Republican Party, and possibly not liberal enough for the left most wing of the Democrats. Do you think Bloomberg will seem more liberal than Kerry for example? I see Bloomberg as just slightly to the left of center. I don't see any highly polarizing candidate as having a chance. And you have to have media on your side to have even the remotest possibility of being elected. This is where Ron Paul has a real problem. He is like the invisible candidate as far as the media is concerned! Whatever your view of Paul, it's very unfair. Disgraceful really that the media does not give him his due. At the moment it seems that if the Tea Party runs a candidate, and they do seem to have a suicide wish, they will split the Republican vote, and Obama will win handily. Just as Nader, along with the Supreme Court , was the deciding factor in the Gore v. Bush election. In any case it is very early in the excruciatingly long U.S. campaign season.
It could be a turning point in US politics as seen by the Wall St. sit-in. Big money has ruled for decades, but now that things have gone wrong a change seems to be needed, then some other force may come to the fore.