2020 Presidential Election

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

yes, however it's probably in our best interest that none of them becomes the vice president of the United States.

Truly. I don't want someone who reminds me of the masses to be our president. Have you seen the masses lately?

[Bob Green]

Why do you think Kamala Harris is polarizing?

Harris is way too left for Biden’s base. Like Warren, voters either love her or hate her. That is polarizing.

[JasonEvans]

Do many of you feel Biden will be able to complete the first term? I am concerned that whoever is the VP will de facto become the President when he is declared incapable to continue.

Though Biden is probably not as sharp as he was a decade ago, speculating that he will be removed from office and/or be incapable of performing the job seems a bit much for this thread. That said, I think Biden's age has led most of us to say that Biden should pick a reasonably experienced VP who is capable of stepping in if necessary. The list of likely VP picks seems to reflect that belief.

[Furniture]

I disagree. Kamala Harris is polarizing. Biden doesn’t need a VP to get him votes, he needs a VP who will not lose him votes. Harris would be a bad choice.

my problem with Harris is her body language and her demeanor. Half the time she looks pissed off. She slumps and doesn’t smile. She doesn’t inspire me.

[Wander]

IMO Kamala is the safest pick of the people in serious contention. Low risk, also relatively low potential for reward. Well-known to people compared to most others in contention. Bob Green has been saying she's too extreme for the last year – I honestly don't know where that comes from, it just seems he doesn't like her. Her positions are less to the left than many of the people who ran for the nomination (Warren, Sanders, Yang, Castro, some others). She has high favorability ratings among the Democratic base – not sure what the numbers are for the general population.

[Acymetric]

Harris is way too left for Biden’s base. Like Warren, voters either love her or hate her. That is polarizing.

Are you sure? I don't think the further left parts of the party like her at all. She is way closer to the center than Warren. Harris as "too far left" sounds really strange to me.

[Bob Green]

Bob Green has been saying she's too extreme for the last year – I honestly don't know where that comes from, it just seems he doesn't like her. Her positions are less to the left than many of the people who ran for the nomination (Warren, Sanders, Yang, Castro, some others).

Perhaps you’re correct. I also don’t like Warren as the VP selection. As a conservative who cannot vote Republican in 2020, I assure you Biden can still lose my vote. I voted Libertarian in 2016 and could do it again in 2020. I suspect there are a significant number of conservatives who feel the same way.

My desire was for Biden to select Klobuchar but that train has left the station.

[Bob Green]

Are you sure? I don't think the further left parts of the party like her at all. She is way closer to the center than Warren. Harris as "too far left" sounds really strange to me.

Perhaps I am mistaken and Wander is correct when he says I just don’t like her.

[Acymetric]

Perhaps you’re correct. I also don’t like Warren as the VP selection. As a conservative who cannot vote Republican in 2020, I assure you Biden can still lose my vote. I voted Libertarian in 2016 and could do it again in 2020. I suspect there are a significant number of conservatives who feel the same way.

My desire was for Biden to select Klobuchar but that train has left the station.

I should clarify that I agree Harris would be a terrible VP pick. I just don't think it has to do with her location on the right-center-left spectrum.

[Wander]

Perhaps you’re correct. I also don’t like Warren as the VP selection. As a conservative who cannot vote Republican in 2020, I assure you Biden can still lose my vote. I voted Libertarian in 2016 and could do it again in 2020. I suspect there are a significant number of conservatives who feel the same way.

My desire was for Biden to select Klobuchar but that train has left the station.

I hear you on all of this, including how moderate voters would prefer Klobuchar. I just don't see lumping in Kamala with Bernie and Warren in the "obviously too far left to have any chance of appealing to moderates" category. Like Acymetric said, I don't think the hard-core Bernie wing of the party even likes her at all.

[budwom]

Joe's been addressing things in a grandfatherly kind of way, and perhaps that a pretty good strategy right now. We have more than enough hostility right now.

[OldPhiKap]

As a conservative who cannot vote Republican in 2020, I assure you Biden can still lose my vote. I voted Libertarian in 2016 and could do it again in 2020. I suspect there are a significant number of conservatives who feel the same way.

I think this expresses the voice of the exact target group that will decide the election. Moderate/independents that don’t like what is going on now, but aren’t going to turn hard left either.

(not to be presumptive about what Bob feels of course.)

[DU82]

If you have 55 seconds to spare, this video is a pretty enlightening: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teWo2rKuLH0

I know what this thread is titled, but am I the only one who was expecting a Monty Python scene to go along with the subtitle "Palin Video"?

(Looking for some intentional humor, I guess.)

[OldPhiKap]

I know what this thread is titled, but am I the only one who was expecting a Monty Python scene to go along with the subtitle "Palin Video"?

(Looking for some intentional humor, I guess.)

What are your views on pantomime horses?

[construe]

Ok, this is totally "unpossible", but just as a Gedanken experiment, Biden did once mention that he might pick a Republican*, so what if he picked...

Nikki Haley?

She certain checks a lot of boxes as someone with executive and "international" (at least UN) experience (as well as being a minority!), so she has some Presidential possibilities. That ticket certainly could tempt a lot of never Trumpers and perhaps even a few Trumpers themselves. (Obv it's a non-starter for Dems, though...)

(* I suspect Joe wasn't really serious, but said this to make a point about his bi-partinship-iness and that he seriously does still believe there are Republicans who could be salvaged from Trump's orbit...)

[OldPhiKap]

Nikki is poised to launch for the Reps in 2024. And will be an intriguing candidate.

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Ok, this is totally "unpossible", but just as a Gedanken experiment, Biden did once mention that he might pick a Republican*, so what if he picked...

Nikki Haley?

She certain checks a lot of boxes as someone with executive and "international" (at least UN) experience (as well as being a minority!), so she has some Presidential possibilities. That ticket certainly could tempt a lot of never Trumpers and perhaps even a few Trumpers themselves. (Obv it's a non-starter for Dems, though...)

(* I suspect Joe wasn't really serious, but said this to make a point about his bi-partinship-iness and that he seriously does still believe there are Republicans who could be salvaged from Trump's orbit...)

I like the creativity of the pick, but I can't see Dems stomaching anyone from Trump's orbit.

I do agree that she's likely part of the future of the party, which they desperately need to piece together. There's not a lot to work with at this point.

[Bluedog]

Honestly, I think Biden should choose a moderate who isn't as well known by the masses (i.e. didn't run in the primaries), but still is an experienced and fairly young politician. Senators, governor's, etc. Make an uncontroversial pick who doesn't garner much of a reaction. I think that's basically what Trump did with Pence, making a "safe" choice. I think Biden should want the race to be solely on Trump vs. Biden.

[construe]

Nikki is poised to launch for the Reps in 2024. And will be an intriguing candidate.

Yes, i agree with this. In some ways, you need a conservative to break some gender/race barriers, so I think she has a good shot (Margaret Thatcher, Nixon opening China, etc...even Angela Merkel and Barack Obama are pretty conservative leaders of more liberal parties)

In traditional times, she would be a formidable candidate. But I wonder if Trump's base will ever be able to stomach a traditional politician who makes measured, anodyne public statements even if they're very conservative in practice (e.g., Mike Pence). (Actually, Haley can sound pretty fire-brand-y at times, so maybe she'll be able to thread that needle with the new base of the Republican party...)

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

Yes, i agree with this. In some ways, you need a conservative to break some gender/race barriers, so I think she has a good shot (Margaret Thatcher, Nixon opening China, etc...even Angela Merkel and Barack Obama are pretty conservative leaders of more liberal parties)

In traditional times, she would be a formidable candidate. But I wonder if Trump's base will ever be able to stomach a traditional politician who makes measured, anodyne public statements even if they're very conservative in practice (e.g., Mike Pence). (Actually, Haley can sound pretty fire-brand-y at times, so maybe she'll be able to thread that needle with the new base of the Republican party...)

Well, they have to go somewhere next. Who else is a viable candidate?