March 6, 2020--Elizabeth Warren

Elizabeth Warren's announcement yesterday that she is no longer a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the presidency was a class act. 

There was just the right combination of self-insight, a vision for the future, and understandable emotion.

Unlike her colleague candidates, she did not rush to endorse Joe Biden or, for that mater, Bernie Sanders. She indicated she needs to give it some thought. Who to back for the presidency deserves that.

In he meantime, Biden and Bernie Sanders are pursuing her, seeking her support. 

I have a suggestion--Joe Biden should see if she is interested in being his running mate if, which now seems likely, he defeats Bernie and becomes the nominee. And that he and she consider announcing it even this week which would help him win the Michigan primary next week. If he were to win that most savvy political observers feel it would in effect win him the nomination. It would suggest that over the next few weeks Biden would run the Midwest primary table.

And wouldn't Warren be an excellent running mate and, ultimately, vice president.

Biden was a deeply involved vice president to Barak Obama and from that experience would likely be an excellent president to partner with. He could, in effect, mentor her, assisting her get ready, while burnishing her resumé, to run again for the presidency four years hence. 

In the meantime, Warren would help draw progressives, women especially, to support him.

With Joe already 77 it feels likely that he would opt to be a one-term president. 

So this scenario for each of them could be politically advantages and responsible. It would also help breech the divide within the Democratic Party between progressives and moderates. Breeching divides will be Biden's agenda for the remained of the campaign and, if he succeeds, his presidency.

November 13, 2019--Vice President Nikki

I spoke too soon when I wrote snarkily last week that if Michael Bloomberg wants to enter the Democratic contest and is playing to win, running on a bipartisan ticket with someone like Nikki Haley as his Vice Presidential candidate could be a politically smart move.

But then a couple of things happened--first, I had second thoughts about Haley after a rush of friends' comments inspired me to take a closer look at her resumé. It's not that impressive. She clearly has a lot of personal sizzle but not much substance. 

And, then, in conjunction with the publication of her book, With All Due Respect, she appears to be signaling that she is available right now to run for vice president--not on a Bloomberg ticket but on Trump's, after he dumps Mike Pence.

I can only imagine her pitching Trump that if he taps her that will solve his problem with suburban women. And as a woman of color, that too would be helpful. Win, win, win.

Gossipy books such as this, for which she received at least a $2.0 million advance from Simon & Schuster, need to have enough juicy stories to generate prepublication buzz and advanced orders on Amazon. As of this morning it is 4th on Amazon'a best seller list.

In the case of Haley, the juicy stuff is her claim that in the early days of the Trump administration she was approached by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Chief of Staff John Kelly to join them in "saving the country" by "undermining Trump." 

If true, one might call this treason.

But is her revelation true?

She was asked point blank Monday night on Fox News by Sean Hannity if she told the president about this plot. She said, "absolutely."

He failed to follow up. He did not ask her why, then, she did not mention it in her book. If it happened, wouldn't she have written about alerting Trump and wouldn't he, if she brought this treasonous allegation to his attention, have had Tillerson and Kelly escorted by federal marshals to the Oval Office and fired them on the spot?

So I doubt her story and see it as fabricated for an audience of one, Trump, to maneuver him to put her on his ticket. And to sell books.

On the other hand, candidate Bloomberg with a moderate Republican as his vice president may still be a good idea.

May 20, 2014--Veeps

Though the 2016 election is more than two years away, it is roaring ahead.

One would think that much needs to happen between now and then to fill out the field of candidates and for the campaign itself to unfold.

That's what one would think, especially since the incumbent president is constitutionally not permitted to run for reelection. Thus, four candidates need to be selected, presidential and vice presidential candidates for both parties. That usually involves endless machinations.

But this time around I can save potential candidates and you a lot of effort and expense by filling out with assurance at least three of the four slots.

Unfortunately, we will miss a vibrant Democratic party primary season since Hillary Clinton only needs to formally announce her intention to seek the presidency for the nomination to be summarily given to her.

There will thus be no "likable enough" moments nor Joe Biden ramblings. The only uncertainty will be who will be her running mate.

I can end that speculation right now--Hillary Clinton's vice presidential partner will be the mayor of San Antonio, Julian Castro or his identical twin, Congressman Joaquin Castro. Or, since no one can tell them apart, it could be both of them.

Democrats are fantasizing that red-state Texas has the potential to be flipped to become a blue state, virtually assuring Hillary's election to the presidency. So to have a Latino Texan as her running mate is  irresistible and inevitable. This is largely why President Obama is about to appoint him Housing Secretary. To beef up Castro's resumé

So that's two down, two nominations to go.

On the GOP side, though the presidential nominee will be either Rand Paul or, sorry, Mitt Romney,  we know that with cynical pandering equivalent to the Democrats', they too will choose an Hispanic VP candidate. In their case it will be Marco Rubio of purple-state Florida. If Republicans can win the stand-your-ground state (and appeal to maybe 35-40 percent of Latinos nationwide), they at least have a shot at defeating Hillary. But don't hold your breath.

Don't hold your breath because Marco, though Hispanic, is Cuban-American and being Cuban-American is not the same as being Mexican-America as is/are the Castros. In other words, all Latinos are not alike any more than all Asians.

But for those of us seeking entertainment from a out-of-control political contest, all is not lost.

If Herman Cain, Rick Perry, Donald Trump, and Chris Christie decide to seek the nomination, the GOP clown car will not be riderless nor humorless. And then, of course, there is the ongoing hope that Michele Bachmann will show up, dancing up a storm with her gay-curing husband.