Countdown to the 2020 Presidential Election: Installment #2

Nowadays we hear way too much about what the current President is doing every day, whether tweeting, playing golf, vacationing, speaking to rallies of the faithful, dining, traveling, even governing.

There has not been much information about anyone or anything else until articles began appearing recently about possible 2020 Presidential candidates – Republican candidates, the President’s party.

News organizations must believe the American public waits in excited exhausted eerie anticipation for the 2020 election. I would not be writing about the event so early in the election cycle except other journalists, talk show hosts, radio windbags, celebrities, and social media are now providing input into the great event.

So as not to be thought ignorant or oblivious of this momentous future moment in American history, I enter my words of wisdom into the great pot of poop being generated over the 2020 Presidential election.

Should the current President not be his party’s standard bearer, the gossip goes, who will be?

Much speculation centers around the VP, Mike Pence. Which is a subtle way, I believe, of the current President’s political machine working behind the scenes to undermine the guy and ensure he is NOT the candidate. I am unsure what the sleaze leak will be, but something will happen. There is plenty of time to shovel dirt on the guy’s political grave.

Republicans are everywhere nowadays, and so are potential candidates. The U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley is a fresh face, and a female one, although that is not necessarily a plus in the mind of many Republicans. Consider her a VP possibility. Unless the party thinks they are desperate.

The Republican Senator from Arizona, Jeff Flake, is interesting. He recently published what is apparently a scathing indictment of the current President, Conscience of a Conservative. Or at least that is what I heard. I have not read the book yet. The other Arizona senator, John McCain, will be too old to run. He tried in 2008, but the most conservative element of the Party stuck him with Sarah Palin for VP. That sunk his candidacy almost immediately.

Ohio governor John Kasich might decide to throw his hat in the ring again…and Ted Cruz, assuming he is re-elected Senator from Texas in 2018, and most of the other 2016 Presidential wannabees.

As for the Democrats, a lot depends on what happens in 2018. Will the party gain any House seats? Maybe, especially if the Supreme Court takes action on gerrymandering. Wishful thinking on my part…Will Dems gain Senators? Lose some? Of the 33 Senators up for re-election in 2018, 23 are Democrats, 2 are Independents who caucus with the Democrats, and 8 are Republicans. Democrats face an uphill battle to keep all current seats and add more.

Looking toward 2020, well-known politicians include the old guard: Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren. Hillary already bowed out. But the Dems would do well to offer a fresh-faced candidate not necessarily a household name - yet. It worked for Kennedy, Carter, Clinton, Obama.

Potential contenders include Kamala Harris, Senator from California, apparently a viable candidate because she is already facing negative feedback from her own party. I think some of the bigwigs do not like her – another talkative woman. Imagine a well-spoken, smart, liberal woman with a Jamaican/Indian heritage. Ouch!

Moving on…how about Hillary’s VP candidate, Tim Kaine…Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey…Andrew Cuomo of New York…Governor John Hickenlooper of Colorado…then there are non-politician candidates. Steven Colbert…Mark Cuban…Mark Zuckerberg…Caroline Kennedy (almost a non-politician with a potent name)…and the list goes on.

The fun has only just begun. Or the agony, depending on your perspective.

 

How many of us feel this way!?