Beto 2020?

c.e. asked me a week or two back who I'd like to see run for president on the Democratic side in 2020.  That's a good question -- I have to take into consideration not only someone who espouses policies I can live with, but also character and electability.

Here's a potential candidate for starters:  Beto O'Rourke.  Dude will probably lose to Ted Cruz because Texas -- but it's damn near 50/50 in Texas, which is pretty astonishing.  A couple of snippets showing why I think he's got the character, the presence, and the likability quotient the Dems need:


www.cbsnews.com/news/beto-orourke-says-nothing-more-american-than-to-stand-up-or-take-a-knee-for-your-rights/









Watch that clip.  That's one hell of an answer.  And since the guy asking it clearly was looking for a different answer (i.e., that kneeling is disrespectful), that was spontaneous.  Stunning answer, IMO -- I've never seen anyone answer that question better, or indeed, so well.


I just posted this in the McCain thread, but it's a great illustration of the guy's character, IMO:









I would vote for a flaming dumpster over Trump -- whoever gets the Democratic nomination is going to get my vote in 2020, frankly.  I like Biden and he's got the experience I value, so I'd be happy to see him run, but then, his age unfortunately might weigh against him with some voters.  Anyway, I think Beto has real potential to pull in independent and moderate voters (even though he's actually pretty liberal).  He's got that upbeat inspirational pulling-people-together non-divisive thing going on.  He's got (IMO) that passion and magnetism I saw in Obama and Bill Clinton that I think was the decisive factor in pulling moderate voters over the fence.  And I think we're going to need that in 2020.  If he can pull in nearly 50% of the voters in freaking Texas over Ted Cruz...

And yeah, my ideal candidate would have more experience than Beto does.  So he's not my ideal.  But I'm not sure much of the electorate feels the same way, and few of our candidates with more experience have the je ne sais quoi I see in these videos.  He's clearly bright as hell and I think he's up to it. IMO the dude is a contender.

Whether he's interested, I dunno, but assuming he loses to Cruz (it being Texas), maybe he'll throw his hat in the ring.