Bloomberg Has Tough Criticism for Obama and Romney Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg in his foundation's offices. Of the presidential candidates, he said, "Their economic plans are not real." President Obama and Mitt Romney have courted his endorsement covetously, with a White House lunch invitation here (Mr. Obama) and a pilgrimage to the Upper East Side there (Mr. Romney), through intensive back-channel outreach and effusive public praise. But sitting in the elegant town house in Manhattan that is home to his private foundation two and a half weeks before Election Day, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who has endorsed neither candidate, had sobering words for both. For Mr. Romney: "I do think that Romney's business experience would be valuable, but I don't know that running Bain Capital gives you the experience to run the country." For Mr. Obama: "This business of "Well, they can afford it; they should pay their fair share?" Who are you to say "Somebody else's fair share?" " For both: "Their economic plans are not real. I think that's clear. In one sense, Mr. Bloomberg was speaking for voters everywhere who feel exasperated by a presidential campaign that has been fought in sound bites and bromides as problems at home and abroad multiply. In another, perhaps, they are the words of a man who thinks he can do better, his own chronic yearnings for the office frustrated by his cleareyed assessment that he could not win. But mostly, Mr. Bloomberg was stepping forward as the nation's newest billionaire "super PAC" donor, with a vow to spend millions beyond this election year supporting candidates willing to do what he implied Mr. Obama and Mr. Romney were not: taking "leadership and standing up to do things that aren't going to be popular." And it was in that context that he offered his most expansive, and critical, take yet of the two men vying for the presidency, each of whom had at times held promise to practice Mr. Bloomberg's brand of nonideological pragmatism only to become snared in partisanship. His new group, Independence USA PAC, which was officially unveiled last week, has pledged to spend up to $15 million in the next two weeks on state, federal and local candidates whose views align with Mr. Bloomberg's in support of gun control, same-sex marriage and overhauling public schools. Calling that "getting your feet wet," he said he wanted to provide a financial bulwark for those who occupy his definition of the political center, as George Soros does for those on the left, and as Charles and David Koch do for those on the right. In essence, though, Mr. Bloomberg is seeking to give the candidates a taste of the political freedom that he has enjoyed as a self-financed billionaire politician whose money helped him withstand the powerful opposition he faced because of his unpopular initiatives, including a smoking ban and an 18.5 percent raise in property taxes, to name just two. While he had some praise for Mr. Obama and Mr. Romney, his central argument was that they were too hemmed in by partisan obligations and special-interest intimidation to tackle problems head on. "If you listen to what they say, they never get explicit," he said, leaning forward in a plush beige lounge chair alongside the deputy mayor who is on leave to run the mayor's new super PAC, Howard Wolfson. Mr. Bloomberg endorsed George W. Bush in 2004, when the mayor was a Republican. In 2008, after changing his party registration to independent, he declined to make an endorsement. His support is eagerly sought because of his unusual crossover appeal, especially to three key constituencies: moderate independents, Jewish voters and the Wall Street crowd that has shifted to Mr. Romney this year from Mr. Obama four years ago. Though he is more likely to agree with Mr. Obama than with Mr. Romney - on same-sex marriage, climate change and abortion rights - he expressed disappointment with the president's leadership. "I am more in sync with President Obama's views on social issues," he said. I will say that I don't see as much action as I would like, and it's nice to be on the side that I think you should be on, but unless you do something, so what? Mr. Bloomberg was asked how he could make that criticism given the president's announcement last spring that he supported same-sex marriage. "Let's get serious here: it was Joe Biden that forced that issue," he said, referring to the vice president's surprise remarks backing same-sex nuptials that were credited with forcing Mr. Obama to follow. Some people say he just goes off; I would say he's a principled guy. The White House has said that the president had always intended to announce his support for same-sex marriage and that Mr. Biden's words only forced him to do so slightly earlier than planned.