Almost any of the prominent Democrats could beat TFG if he is the candidate. Al Franken could beat him. Wouldn't you really love to see THAT debate? "Hey Don, let's compare notes on how to piss off women...you go first."
TFG will be weakened by the onslaught of legal issues that will befall him beginning on November 14th. Now that NY Sta…
Almost any of the prominent Democrats could beat TFG if he is the candidate. Al Franken could beat him. Wouldn't you really love to see THAT debate? "Hey Don, let's compare notes on how to piss off women...you go first."
TFG will be weakened by the onslaught of legal issues that will befall him beginning on November 14th. Now that NY State law allows for it, E.Carroll Jean will be followed by more. Georgia may actually move fastest. That phone call was a beaut. And yet Garland the tortoise may yet win the race. Mara Lardo docs first, then insurrection? Espionage and Obstruction? It's going to be a cascade of indictments.
And therefore. TFG will be the limping old wounded antelope in the herd of aspirants. Pence is picking at him, Haley is hiding but still hinting, DeathSantis is close to a faceoff and his popularity is rising fast. Pompeo is ready to pounce (he even accepts the results of 2020!). Only the Shadow knows who it will be...but let's not underestimate the lust for this job. Once the weakness is shown it will be like hyenas on a carcass.
I could be wrong. It happens every day. But it is fun to speculate and to hope.
You are expecting a lot of things that would happen in a rational world. Unfortunately, we do not live in that world.
The other Republicans who are "waiting to pounce" will not pounce unless Trump says he is not running. He's not going to say that because the minute he does, his power, influence and most importantly source of income dry up.
It's been seven years, Bill, how can a guy as smart as you have not figured this out?
Every tyrant in history has had a limited run. Who will be Trumps Brutus? Not sure. But the first smell of blood in the water will bring churning, ripping and chomping.
I see the rampant lust for power by younger smarter players as inevitable competition for the real estate con man. And they will be worse.
Trumps recent diatribes and babblings display an ever more desperate, incoherent and self destructive clown. He is designing his own spiral dive. He is providing his own prosecution. That will not go unnoticed by the competition.
And then there are those within the GQP who will see a loser about to be jailed as a less than ideal candidate.
Bill you landed one! And funny as a 'limping old wounded antelope in a herd of aspirants'. Now, perhaps, we have reached a rare moment of harmony; what about Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg? How's that for a name? It looks like a couple of aspirants.
Mayor Pete is the smartest politician on the national scene. I really think he has the right stuff. But I await his revealing what he did at McKinsey before I would give him 100% suuport.
Bill, Biden had no choice about whether he was going to run for a second term or not. He had to say 'yes' in order to keep the party together as much as possible. They cannot be separated by who will run for president and seek donors, etc. The chaos and destruction from Trump, the Republicans and far-right must have a steady, organized and well funded, stronger counter-force. Biden is correct in leaving as little space as possible among democrats. My hunch is that he will anoint the next leader. Buttigieg is likely. He has been broadcasting the way Biden has been dealing with supply-chain issues. Buttigieg is probably working along side Biden, cabinet members, the Fed Chair, etc., on the next couple of political business cycles -- more so than is typical for a transport secretary.
Absolutely! Biden can take his time in his decision and get no derision from me. The longer he holds onto that power, the more he can accomplish. And a lot of it is not covered by the media. His executive actions, his rebuilding of the agencies that TFG stripped of talent. None of that happens overnight. I think we owe Joe Biden complete support to announce his intentions whenever HE is ready to do so. For now, we should support him in every way possible.
Then...I may have this wrong, but my intuition is that if he decides that Harris is not his top choice, he will simply open the floodgates for every possible contender and say something like: "It is up to the American people to select the next President, not me". And I think the conventional wisdom suggests Harris is not the pick...but who knows? She has not been "polling well". But I hate polls :)
You know I have great esteem for Pete. I remember having dinner with several relatives early on in the primary season. All of us "seniors". I asked: "OK, don't think about your answer - just give me your gut reaction when I ask who is your favorite right now?" They ALL shouted "Mayor Pete".
My only concern has been the McKinsey work - which might be a vulnerability. But I did some Google digging and came up with this (from 2019) which made me feel better:
"Buttigieg’s campaign said those clients were: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, the Canadian supermarket chain Loblaws, Best Buy, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, the Energy Foundation, the US Postal Service, and the US Department of Defense."
All of which would be positive resume builders. And "features" for his potential campaign. Is America ready for a gay top executive? Colorado says yes. And we in MA are about to shout "Hell, yeah!" (Mostly I am just thrilled to have an articulate and super smart woman :)
Pete 2028! I am sick and tired of elevating people before they are really ready. Every single problem Obama had or created was due to his inexperience. Three years in the state legislature and four years as a junior senator don't really cut it. Which is why he made the appointments he did (most notoriously, the incompetent Emmanuel) who made the mistakes they did in the first term, most importantly the failure to see how important 2010 was. The unconscionable surrender to the Tea Party in 2011 after he got "shellacked" was due to inexperience.
Don't get me wrong, I love the guy. But if he could have had 10 more years before he ran, things would have been very different.
Pete has experience running a small college town and running an important-in-effect but not publicly-followed department of the federal government. That is not enough of the right kind of experience.
Did you see the interview by Jonathan Capehart with Biden this morning? Where Biden talked about what he brings to the table? That he has more of the right experience to meet and deal with the challenges we face? Nobody else has that, and we need four more years of it if we are to successfully navigate these political rocks and shoals and reefs the ship of state finds itself in now.
I agree with all the points you made and was less pulled into the Obama romance because of his inexperience.
Doesn't it make sense, however, to think about who other than Biden in case he suffers an appreciable decline or becomes incapacitated. Life expectancy for men in the US is 75. You are envisioning Biden beginning a second term at around the age of 83. Cardiovascular disease, strokes and prostate cancer are common to men his age and younger
As far as options, I would certainly wouldn't limit it to Buttigieg, but I do think he will have had quite a bit more of it than Obama and in the nuts and bolts and results departments. His work can be measured. Then of course who else -- any governors other than Mr. California?
If he was to have prostate cancer, it would have already showed up. It's my experience of people older than me that if you get past 75 with all lights burning bright, they're likely to continue to do so for some considerable time. The people who are going to die of all that stuff by then are dead already. I have known four centenarians who could have run companies. They might have used a wheelchair to get around, but I seem to recall we already did that with the greatest president of the 20th century (who wouldn't stand a chance nowadays with the views we have on disability). I was just having a conversation this morning with the teacher who opened the door to my life, who is 98, and he still drives around in Z06 Corvette.
Okay, good stuff, TC. A tad anecdotal, with the exception of FDR. I am more cautious on this than you are and would add, unlike some here, a different VP is a must. How about Buttigieg?
I'm looking for LOL from you. High expectations on this Sunday afternoon. : 0 )
I think Pete would be better, but I don't know how you switch VPs nowadays. It's not like FDR, who had four different ones in four terms and nobody thought about it. Hasn't been done like that since.
As to the "anecdotal evidence," there's actually a lot of data that for the small minority that get past the mid-70s without getting the "ills of age" that "old age" is successful and not declining. Now that I have managed not to be mauled by a bear in my 40s like my sixth great grandfather, or stick a piece of uranium in the front pocket of my workpants for six weeks like my father, it's highly likely I will follow the path of six other male direct ancestors of whom I have knowledge, all of who lived actively into their 90s. Right now, I am 2 years younger than Biden, and according to my most recent physical this past summer, my doctor told me I am "in great shape for a 50 year old."
Points well taken. Maybe we should establish a President's Academy. Something like a West Point. We wouldn't have to worry about Rethuglicans attending because it would require an oath to uphold the Constitution and a pledge to respect the results of elections. TC, you could teach history with an emphasis on the mistakes armies made. I will conduct a course on dog handling with a focus on Presidential dog etiquette.
Bill, I like the dog etiquette applied to men, Republican politicians, in particular. Call it something else having to do with behavior training to win over female voters. What do you think? I'd tape it, so that women in this country will have something to laugh about
Almost any of the prominent Democrats could beat TFG if he is the candidate. Al Franken could beat him. Wouldn't you really love to see THAT debate? "Hey Don, let's compare notes on how to piss off women...you go first."
TFG will be weakened by the onslaught of legal issues that will befall him beginning on November 14th. Now that NY State law allows for it, E.Carroll Jean will be followed by more. Georgia may actually move fastest. That phone call was a beaut. And yet Garland the tortoise may yet win the race. Mara Lardo docs first, then insurrection? Espionage and Obstruction? It's going to be a cascade of indictments.
And therefore. TFG will be the limping old wounded antelope in the herd of aspirants. Pence is picking at him, Haley is hiding but still hinting, DeathSantis is close to a faceoff and his popularity is rising fast. Pompeo is ready to pounce (he even accepts the results of 2020!). Only the Shadow knows who it will be...but let's not underestimate the lust for this job. Once the weakness is shown it will be like hyenas on a carcass.
I could be wrong. It happens every day. But it is fun to speculate and to hope.
Love your musings. But never underestimate the evil that republicans are capable of. The first consideration, always.
First, Bill, al Franken is not going to win.
You are expecting a lot of things that would happen in a rational world. Unfortunately, we do not live in that world.
The other Republicans who are "waiting to pounce" will not pounce unless Trump says he is not running. He's not going to say that because the minute he does, his power, influence and most importantly source of income dry up.
It's been seven years, Bill, how can a guy as smart as you have not figured this out?
Every tyrant in history has had a limited run. Who will be Trumps Brutus? Not sure. But the first smell of blood in the water will bring churning, ripping and chomping.
I see the rampant lust for power by younger smarter players as inevitable competition for the real estate con man. And they will be worse.
Trumps recent diatribes and babblings display an ever more desperate, incoherent and self destructive clown. He is designing his own spiral dive. He is providing his own prosecution. That will not go unnoticed by the competition.
And then there are those within the GQP who will see a loser about to be jailed as a less than ideal candidate.
Bill you landed one! And funny as a 'limping old wounded antelope in a herd of aspirants'. Now, perhaps, we have reached a rare moment of harmony; what about Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg? How's that for a name? It looks like a couple of aspirants.
Mayor Pete is the smartest politician on the national scene. I really think he has the right stuff. But I await his revealing what he did at McKinsey before I would give him 100% suuport.
Bill, Biden had no choice about whether he was going to run for a second term or not. He had to say 'yes' in order to keep the party together as much as possible. They cannot be separated by who will run for president and seek donors, etc. The chaos and destruction from Trump, the Republicans and far-right must have a steady, organized and well funded, stronger counter-force. Biden is correct in leaving as little space as possible among democrats. My hunch is that he will anoint the next leader. Buttigieg is likely. He has been broadcasting the way Biden has been dealing with supply-chain issues. Buttigieg is probably working along side Biden, cabinet members, the Fed Chair, etc., on the next couple of political business cycles -- more so than is typical for a transport secretary.
Mornin' Fern!
Absolutely! Biden can take his time in his decision and get no derision from me. The longer he holds onto that power, the more he can accomplish. And a lot of it is not covered by the media. His executive actions, his rebuilding of the agencies that TFG stripped of talent. None of that happens overnight. I think we owe Joe Biden complete support to announce his intentions whenever HE is ready to do so. For now, we should support him in every way possible.
Then...I may have this wrong, but my intuition is that if he decides that Harris is not his top choice, he will simply open the floodgates for every possible contender and say something like: "It is up to the American people to select the next President, not me". And I think the conventional wisdom suggests Harris is not the pick...but who knows? She has not been "polling well". But I hate polls :)
You know I have great esteem for Pete. I remember having dinner with several relatives early on in the primary season. All of us "seniors". I asked: "OK, don't think about your answer - just give me your gut reaction when I ask who is your favorite right now?" They ALL shouted "Mayor Pete".
My only concern has been the McKinsey work - which might be a vulnerability. But I did some Google digging and came up with this (from 2019) which made me feel better:
"Buttigieg’s campaign said those clients were: Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, the Canadian supermarket chain Loblaws, Best Buy, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Energy, the Energy Foundation, the US Postal Service, and the US Department of Defense."
All of which would be positive resume builders. And "features" for his potential campaign. Is America ready for a gay top executive? Colorado says yes. And we in MA are about to shout "Hell, yeah!" (Mostly I am just thrilled to have an articulate and super smart woman :)
Pete 2028! I am sick and tired of elevating people before they are really ready. Every single problem Obama had or created was due to his inexperience. Three years in the state legislature and four years as a junior senator don't really cut it. Which is why he made the appointments he did (most notoriously, the incompetent Emmanuel) who made the mistakes they did in the first term, most importantly the failure to see how important 2010 was. The unconscionable surrender to the Tea Party in 2011 after he got "shellacked" was due to inexperience.
Don't get me wrong, I love the guy. But if he could have had 10 more years before he ran, things would have been very different.
Pete has experience running a small college town and running an important-in-effect but not publicly-followed department of the federal government. That is not enough of the right kind of experience.
Did you see the interview by Jonathan Capehart with Biden this morning? Where Biden talked about what he brings to the table? That he has more of the right experience to meet and deal with the challenges we face? Nobody else has that, and we need four more years of it if we are to successfully navigate these political rocks and shoals and reefs the ship of state finds itself in now.
I agree with all the points you made and was less pulled into the Obama romance because of his inexperience.
Doesn't it make sense, however, to think about who other than Biden in case he suffers an appreciable decline or becomes incapacitated. Life expectancy for men in the US is 75. You are envisioning Biden beginning a second term at around the age of 83. Cardiovascular disease, strokes and prostate cancer are common to men his age and younger
As far as options, I would certainly wouldn't limit it to Buttigieg, but I do think he will have had quite a bit more of it than Obama and in the nuts and bolts and results departments. His work can be measured. Then of course who else -- any governors other than Mr. California?
If he was to have prostate cancer, it would have already showed up. It's my experience of people older than me that if you get past 75 with all lights burning bright, they're likely to continue to do so for some considerable time. The people who are going to die of all that stuff by then are dead already. I have known four centenarians who could have run companies. They might have used a wheelchair to get around, but I seem to recall we already did that with the greatest president of the 20th century (who wouldn't stand a chance nowadays with the views we have on disability). I was just having a conversation this morning with the teacher who opened the door to my life, who is 98, and he still drives around in Z06 Corvette.
Okay, good stuff, TC. A tad anecdotal, with the exception of FDR. I am more cautious on this than you are and would add, unlike some here, a different VP is a must. How about Buttigieg?
I'm looking for LOL from you. High expectations on this Sunday afternoon. : 0 )
I think Pete would be better, but I don't know how you switch VPs nowadays. It's not like FDR, who had four different ones in four terms and nobody thought about it. Hasn't been done like that since.
As to the "anecdotal evidence," there's actually a lot of data that for the small minority that get past the mid-70s without getting the "ills of age" that "old age" is successful and not declining. Now that I have managed not to be mauled by a bear in my 40s like my sixth great grandfather, or stick a piece of uranium in the front pocket of my workpants for six weeks like my father, it's highly likely I will follow the path of six other male direct ancestors of whom I have knowledge, all of who lived actively into their 90s. Right now, I am 2 years younger than Biden, and according to my most recent physical this past summer, my doctor told me I am "in great shape for a 50 year old."
Now that's a problem we can agree on. I'm quitting now when the quitting is good.
Points well taken. Maybe we should establish a President's Academy. Something like a West Point. We wouldn't have to worry about Rethuglicans attending because it would require an oath to uphold the Constitution and a pledge to respect the results of elections. TC, you could teach history with an emphasis on the mistakes armies made. I will conduct a course on dog handling with a focus on Presidential dog etiquette.
Bill, I like the dog etiquette applied to men, Republican politicians, in particular. Call it something else having to do with behavior training to win over female voters. What do you think? I'd tape it, so that women in this country will have something to laugh about
Good to hear from you, Bill. Enjoy a the day. The leaves are talking here with their voices, getting stronger! Salud.
Yes. We are at peak color here. Time to walk the dog and enjoy the splendor!