Another view: Bloomberg puts his money where his mouth is

His weak debut on the debate stage not withstanding, there’s a lot to like about Mike Bloomberg. The former three-term New York City mayor has taken on the gun lobby, coal polluters and big tobacco. He has fought for women’s rights and affordable housing. He wants to narrow the inequality gap and expand economic opportunities for minorities.

Forbes estimates his vast wealth to be a staggering $64 billion. And he puts his money — a lot of it — where his mouth is. But some voters could overlook the fact that many of their goals are closely aligned with Bloomberg’s due to one bad mistake he made: his policy of “stop and frisk,” a key tactic used by the New York Police Department during his tenure.

A judge ruled in 2013 that the way in which stop and frisk was carried out violated the Constitution. U.S. District Court Judge Shira Scheindlin called it “a form of racial profiling” of young black and Hispanic men. Yet Bloomberg defended it until he was gearing up to run for president — at which point he decided he was wrong.

Bloomberg is not a racist. He thought stop and frisk would help prevent crime. He admitted making a mistake and apologized. People who are still upset by this are free to vote against him because of this one single issue, but then they’d also be voting against a guy who has fought on their behalf on so many other issues.

This is the problem I have with single-issue voters. They place such a premium on one thing — and I respect that it’s near and dear to their hearts — that everything else a candidate stands for or has done ceases to matter.

It’s not just Bloomberg and stop and frisk. Other voters feel just as passionately about “their” issue, from abortion, taxes and guns to Israel, immigration, climate change and more. This passion for one issue can be so intense and unforgiving, people will ditch a candidate over it if they disagree — even if they agree on just about everything else.

For all the criticism of Bloomberg, it’s also fair to note that he has also done much good, starting with the $6.4 billion he has given to address climate change, public health, education and more. This altruism reflects a man with a good heart. We must remember that over the course of a long life, good people can make bad mistakes. But we must also remember the power of redemption.

I say let’s forgive Bloomberg, and let him get on with his most important project yet: getting rid of our current president.