Despite rumors that he still harbors presidential aspirations, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg said once again Sunday morning that he has no plans to run for president in 2012.

“I will rule out a run for president, I have the best job I could possibly have. I have 1251 days to do it and I’m looking forward to every one of them,” he told David Gregory, host of NBC’s “Meet the Press,” where he appeared along with former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell.

During the show he also weighed in on whether to extend Bush-era tax cuts for the richest Americans, which affect the 2% to 3% of Americans who make more than $250,000 a year. The mayor called for an extension of the cuts for “another couple of years” but then suggested “coupling them with long-term solutions.”

Bloomberg, one of the richest men in the country, failed to elaborate on what those solutions might be.

Lamenting what he called the negative attention brought to the city by ethics charges against New York Democratic Rep. Charles Rangel, the mayor said the entire ordeal is “very sad” and “not good for New York. He’s one of our representatives that was going to be powerful and one that could deliver for New York.”

While Bloomberg said he wanted to “let Congress decide if he did things he’s alleged to have done,” he said the real issues come down to the political system. “Congress doesn’t have the kind of self-policing, openness and visibility this country deserves,” he said.

(Source: WSJ)