Let's have some fun with Barack Obama's pick of a running mate.

I like New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Don't gasp. Don't yell, "WHAT!! A black guy and a Jew!?"

Aren't you paying attention?

'Tis the season of transcendent politics, the year we all (or most of us) move beyond bigotry, racism and old models of building the same tired coalitions to try to win elections.

It's the year of audacity, of thinking outside the box.

Picking Bloomberg is certainly that.

Crazy, you say? Maybe so. And, yeah, I know it's a long shot.

But Bloomberg would help secure the Jewish vote, a key Democratic constituency; ease silly fears that Obama's a Muslim; and end suspicions that an Obama administration might be anti-Israel.

Bloomberg, 66, would bring age and experience to the ticket - not to mention, as an independent, even more appeal to swing voters.

The self-made billionaire Bloomberg would mean serious economic cred (and self-funding, if needed) and management skills to revive the economy.

Hey, he did it for himself; he can do it for the country.

And Obama and Bloomie sing similar songs: Getting results is more important than winning partisan points; good ideas are more important than political ideology.

They agree, in short, on the need for a new approach to leadership.

Their motto?

It's not just about changing parties, it's about changing politics.

And all those long-entrenched Democratic bigwigs? Fuhgeddaboudem. What did they ever do for Obama?

I know that conventional wisdom says Obama's veep needs loads of foreign-policy and/or federal-government expertise.

So most suggestions are pretty predictable.

Michael Fauntroy, assistant professor of public policy at George Mason University, says: "Well, even though it sort of flies in the face of his own campaign, he may decide to pick someone with national experience and credentials. . . . I think [New Mexico Gov.] Bill Richardson has to be on the short list," along with former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards.

When I mention Bloomberg, Fauntroy laughs and asks, "If you're a multibillionaire, do you really want to be vice president? And do you want to spend your summer attacking John McCain?"

Fair points.

But Bloomie's more fun than the rest of the litter.

Notre Dame political-science professor Darren Davis says Obama can grab Hillary Democrats and women with a pick such as Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, 50, a former U.S. attorney and state attorney general.

Or go for foreign-policy experience with Delaware Sen. Joe Biden, 65, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee chief, or former Georgia Sen. Sam Nunn, 69, who chaired the Armed Services Committee.

Others like Virginia Sen. Jim Webb, 62, a Marine veteran who was secretary of the Navy under President Reagan; or Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, 66, a onetime minister and congressional veteran, popular in an important state.

I think Hillary's moot. Because of Bill. Because she doesn't help "turn the page." Because it's predictable.

I also think Gov. Rendell and U.S. Sen. Bob Casey Jr. are stretches.

The Weekly Standard suggests Rendell on grounds that the former national party chairman brings experience and a big state that Democrats need.

But Rendell was a rabid Clinton cheerleader who helped Clinton "blacken" Obama by publicly saying that some Pennsylvania whites won't vote for a black candidate. And Casey, a freshman Obama's age (Casey just turned 48; Obama is 47 in August), would create a ticket that the GOP labels "the young, the raw, the inexperienced."

I like breaking the mold and breaking away from old-school politics. If we're gonna have change, let's have change.

Obama-Bloomberg sure offers that.

Send e-mail to baerj@phillynews.com.

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