From an eyewitness (not me) last night: New York’s Mayor Bloomberg walked into Ristorante i Ricchi last night with an entourage. There he met (or maybe just happened to run into) TIME’s Margaret Carlson, and they chatted for a while. Then Bloomberg left, while an aide (press secretary?) continued talking with Carlson. Then the aide and Carlson individually left…. and Bloomberg returned, in the company of GOP defeatist Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska. They stayed in discussions for a long time.

The eyewitness wonders: Could the two renegade Republicans be talking about a third-party run for the White House? Lord forbid. I can just see the platform: Immediate withdrawal from Iraq, but only if the Iraqis make smoking a capital offense while raising their own taxes.