text: BIRTHDAY OF THE DAY: Mike Bloomberg - POLITICO
  02/14/2020 04:18 AM EST
  How/where are you celebrating your birthday and with whom? "I'll be coming back from campaigning in Texas and North Carolina -- the other candidates aren't spending much time in either state -- and I'll be looking forward to what I do every year for my birthday: dinner with my family."
  How did you get your start in politics? "I had never been involved in politics, but I got tired of seeing the same problems get worse and no one doing anything to fix them, so I decided to run for mayor of New York City. My campaign was a long shot -- I'm not sure even my mother thought I could win -- but I've always been comfortable being the underdog."
  What's an interesting book/article you're reading now or you've recently finished? And why? "I'm reading a book on World War II by Max Hastings, because his book on World War I -- 'Catastrophe 1914: Europe Goes to War' -- was one of the best history books I've ever read. Like so much in history, there are important lessons to be learned, including how seemingly small decisions spiraled into a horrific global conflict."
  What's a trend going on in the U.S. or abroad that doesn't get enough attention? "I've always been passionate about public health, and I think the maternal health crisis in our country is a tragedy that we should not tolerate. Black women are nearly four times more likely than white women to die during childbirth -- and a big reason is that black women are far less likely to have access to affordable, quality care. It's unacceptable that this is happening in America today."
  How's the Trump presidency going? "Well, if you like corruption, disinformation, illegality, recklessness, divisiveness and dysfunction ... it's going great."
  What's a fun fact that people in Washington might not know about you? "I'm left-handed, which puts me in the same company as Leonardo da Vinci, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Barack Obama and Oprah."