NYC City Mayor Michael Bloomberg spoke to an audience in Boca Raton Friday in which he appeared to be removing himself from the short list -- of both candidates:

The Boca Raton News reports:

"A vice president's job is to go to funerals and stand in at events where the president can't go," the Big Apple's chief executive said at a breakfast event sponsored by the Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County and the Jewish Community Relations Council.

"It adds a little luster to the podium," he said, adding: "I think most vice presidents are selected on the basis of whether they can deliver home state and electoral votes."

He said if either of the presidential hopefuls calls him, "I can give them some names."

That's not quite a Sherman, but far from the usual refrains we heard this weekend.

If I could step outside the box for a moment, the Bloomberg Bonanza has always seemed just a bit overhyped. First, it was his possible entry into the presidential race as an Independent. Now, it's about his potential as a running mate. And one has to ask: Just what has he done to deserve so much speculation? It seems to be just his independent streak, which one can read any number of ways. But he's too liberal for McCain, while his place on an Obama ticket doesn't benefit Obama very much, if at all. In his speeches he talks like Obama, but his base is confined to the Northeast. Could be a different story if Bloomberg was from the South. There's also the matter that he once called a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq "irresponsible."

Of course Bloomberg has changed his mind before. Which is also another part of the problem. He's switched too many times for Obama or McCain to entirely trust him, much less their respective bases. Bottom line seems to be that Bloomberg is not a forward-looking choice for either candidate.