Are we fed up with politics yet?
There are plenty of signs that Americans are suffering from a severe case of
blather infection. Dismal TV ratings of the Impeachment trial should have been
sufficient evidence that most people are just tuning out the noise coming out
of Washington. And it’s not just inside the Beltway that lies and insults
masquerade as heathy political discourse. It is a presidential election year,
after all.
There were once 20 or so Democratic candidates
of some national stature trying to convince us of their superior ability to
lead the nation. Most of them, like Beto
O’Rourke, Kamala Harris, Bill DeBlasio, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Spartacus Booker
discovered early on that their outsize egos could not magically produce
favorable polling numbers or donor enthusiasm. Others, like Julian Castro and
John Delaney just didn’t know when to quit. Their charred candidacies soon
joined those of Andrew Yang, Deval Patrick, and Michael Bennett littering the
field of casualties after Iowa and New Hampshire.
The list of survivors will continue
to shrink. The next to go should be Tulsi Gabbard and Tom Steyer who have never
been taken seriously, followed by Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren whose
once-shining stars now look more like sputtering candles. Which leaves the
Final Four.
I like Amy Klobuchar. She’s strong
on policy and would give Donald Trump a good fight, but her coffers are nearly
empty. Mayor Pete did well in Iowa and New Hampshire but may not survive the
coming attacks on his lack of experience and weak policy positions, not to
mention his vulnerability on social issues. Bernie Sanders has deep pockets and
a solid base of clueless young enthusiasts. He will also likely pick up what’s
left of Warren’s supporters after she retreats to her Massachusetts teepee.
That will bring the contest down to Bernie and multi-billionaire Michael
Bloomberg.
I wonder where the mainstream media
will come down on this. Its left leanings would favor Sanders, but the
Democratic Party, which enjoys the full support of the media, is horrified at
the prospect of Bernie at the head of the ticket in November. Will the Party
direct its sycophants at the New York Times, Washington Post, CNN, and MSNBC to
abandon Sanders in favor of Michael Bloomberg, someone who is attempting to buy
his way into the Oval Office?
Meanwhile, President Trump should
have clear sailing. Bolstered by a booming economy and a series of successes
here and abroad, he is likely to pile up supporters all the way to November. He
should win re-election in a landslide. Or will he? What could possibly derail
his high-speed train to victory?
I’ve always maintained that Donald
Trump’s greatest enemy is Donald Trump. He is the reason Republicans lost
control on the House in 2018, and he may end up causing Republicans to lose the
Senate this year. Even if he stays in the White House, he will not be able to
govern without the cooperation of a Congress led by Nancy Pelosi and Chuck
Schumer.
The president’s problem and ultimate
vulnerability is his management style. His monumental ego has made it
impossible for him to admit that sometimes he’s not the smartest person in the
room. He prefers giving impromptu press conferences
to letting his press secretary handle them; he tweets rather than relying on
his Communications staff; and he tends to follow his instincts rather than advisors
who may be more knowledgeable than he is. That explains why he has lost so many
good people and turned some frustrated White House staffers against him.
The latest evidence of the president’s
recklessness is his alienation of Attorney General William Barr to the point
where Barr vented publicly that Trump’s constant Twitter commentary makes it
impossible for him do his job. Barr, in my opinion, is the Trump
administration’s single greatest asset. The president cannot afford to lose
him. But he will if he doesn’t learn to keep his mouth shut and let his people
do their jobs.
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