New York's Bloomberg says won't run for president

NEW YORK, Aug 21 (Reuters) New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says he cannot win the US presidency and won't run, the strongest statement to date about his intentions for the 2008 presidential race.

Bloomberg previously had said he had no plans to run, which failed to quiet speculation that he was planning an independent bid for the White House.

In an interview with newsman Dan Rather of HDNet television to be aired today, Bloomberg was asked if he was running and if he was going to run for president. He answered ''no'' to both questions.

He refused to categorically rule out any future run, then added: ''The answer is 'no.' ... If somebody asks me where I stand, I tell them. And that's not a way to get elected generally. Nobody's going to elect me president of the United States.'' HDNet provided a partial transcript of the interview.

Bloomberg was a longtime Democrat who switched to the Republican Party to run for New York mayor in 2001. He was re-elected in 2005, and then in June of this year announced he had left the Republican Party to become an independent.

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