R.T. Rybak mentioned as "potential" presidential candidate by New York Times

NYTimes.com

The grey lady sees ol' blue eyes in the White House.

​In an article in the Sunday edition of the New York Times titled "The 2016 Election, Already Upon Us," Washington bureau chief David Leonhardt pontificated on likely candidates for a presidential election four years in the future.

In among the usual suspects -- Hillary Clinton, Andrew Cuomo, Elizabeth Warren -- is an awfully familiar local name.

After fretting over the DFL's troubles in a post-Obama world, Leonhardt plays with the names of some local pols who are perhaps mulling a go at the White House in 2016.

"Several other governors . . . may also be tempted. Even some current mayors, including Cory A. Booker of Newark, Rahm Emanuel of Chicago and R. T. Rybak of Minneapolis, may be potential future candidates," he writes.

Contacted to get some kind of response from Rybak, communications director John Stiles came up short.

"He wouldn't stop laughing," says Stiles. (In the past, Rybak has staunchly denied that his vigorous campaigning for Obama is a play for a job in D.C., saying, "If I wanted to go to Washington I would have gone already.")

Rybak's son Charlie was slightly more verbose on the matter over Twitter, writing: "Lesson of the day: Don't believe everything you read in the New York Times."

Previous coverage:

• COVER STORY: The Real Rybak -- Up close and personal with the mayor of Minneapolis
• The Real Rybak: A reporter's notebook in Iowa [VIDEO]
• City Pages, RT Rybak featured in New York Times