Mike made a mess

The Bloomberg News story about Bloomberg News being banned from the Trump campaign because Bloomberg News wrongly will not investigate Mike Bloomberg or other Democratic contenders, but will continue to probe Donald Trump, refers to “Bloomberg LP founder and majority owner Michael Bloomberg.”

Those simple eight words of disclaimer are all that’s needed to allow any of Bloomberg News’ 2,700 journalists to continue to do tough, deep, serious reporting on Mike the man, the candidate, the billionaire businessman and the philanthropist.

That way, Bloomberg News journalists wouldn’t have to back out of investigative reporting on every other Democrat running as well, which is what’s now been required in the name of fairness since they’re playing hands off with the boss.

Instead, Mike has put Bloomberg journalists in an awful bind — investigating one Republican incumbent and zero Democratic challengers — which Trump and his operatives at the Republican National Committee have gleefully taken advantage of.

Bloomberg News isn’t skipping the election entirely; it has a reporter assigned to Mike’s campaign. What the editors got wrong was to put a limit on what that reporter and the others can report about Mike and the Democrats.

Suppose they come across a great unsolicited tip about Mike, or Elizabeth Warren, or Bernie Sanders, or Joe Biden? Should they tell no one? Why should they be constrained to this-happened-today stenography?

The Trump campaign and RNC are free to be dumb and vindictive. Bloomberg should be smarter and better. Isn’t that his selling point?