New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg has moved in recent days to reclaim the title of the nation�s top Washington outsider, embarking on a messaging tour to blast Congress and the White House for failing to reach a bipartisan agreement on deficit reduction.

In numerous TV and radio appearances, Bloomberg has criticized Democrats and Republicans for their �political cowardice.� He�s endorsed proposals for debt reduction that include ending the Bush tax cuts and implementing the Simpson-Bowles Commission�s austerity plan.

And in a departure from Bloomberg�s general practice of not criticizing the president � and calling on the country to unite behind him � the mayor accused President Barack Obama of failing to �provide leadership in difficult situations.�

On one level, Bloomberg�s media blitz is more of the same for a politician who has long sought out influence in national politics, often on a similar set of issues.

But to some, Bloomberg�s national messaging tour also looks like an escape from a third term that has not gone as hoped for. From botched snow removal last winter to a ticket-fixing scandal in the New York Police Department, to � most infamously � Bloomberg�s showdown with Occupy Wall Street, there�s a palpable sense that things have soured on the home front.

Against that backdrop, the tumult of national politics might look like a relatively welcoming place for Bloomberg to start shaping a post-mayoral role for himself.

�My suspicion is he hasn�t quite figured out what his next act is, but the one thing he knows he wants is to stay relevant and continue cultivating his brand as the independent, sane, grown-up voice in American politics,� said Democratic strategist Dan Gerstein, a veteran of Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman�s independent 2006 campaign. �This plays into his sweet spot: It�s the intersection of independence, adult leadership, and finance and economics.�

Attacking Washington over the budget showdown, Gerstein said, is a way for Bloomberg to try and put the political quagmire of Occupy Wall Street behind him � and to reclaim a public identity other than that of an investment banker-defending media billionaire.

�This episode has � not just in terms of his management of the protests, but in how he talked about the underlying issues � done real damage to his brand,� said the strategist. �Both the perception and substance is that he�s out of sync with the mood of the country in some of his comments about the nature of capitalism today and income inequality.�

Bloomberg advisers dismiss the notion that the mayor is diverting attention from the Occupy Wall Street demonstrations, which the NYPD broke up last week.

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