Let’s Talk 2020
Oprah Winfrey’s speech last night at the Golden Globes was inspirational and motivating. It was as good as it gets, and sounded to me more like a campaign kickoff speech than a gold-statue award thank you. And, of course, social media lit up with Oprah 2020 memes. I have to say I like the idea; she’s nationally known with super high recognition; she’s a successful television and movie star; she has high approval ratings; she’s started and run several very successful businesses; and she’s been involved in politics for years. She’s a great choice in my book, and brings many of the positives that Obama did, with fewer negatives. I would say if she’s game, I think she would be the perfect counterpoint to that thing currently infesting the White House.
Speaking of movie stars, what about Tom Hanks? He would also be good, though not as strong as Oprah, but I could get behind that candidacy, too. So lets look at the others considered by the Washington Post a couple of weeks ago when they provided their ranking of 15 possible candidates, starting with number 15 (with my own reaction):
15. Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson – B grade movie star, former pro wrestler. Uh, NO.
14. Terry McCauliffe – Gov. of Virginia. Clinton attack dog. NO.
13. Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz – Good businessman, no recognition, no political base. NO.
12. Deval Patrick – Former Gov. of Massachusetts – Highly qualified, good political base. POSSIBLE.
11. Oprah – See above. A definite YES.
10. Andrew Quomo – Gov. of New York. Waffled on sexual harassment. Good record as governor, but not very inspiring. MAYBE
9. Sherrod Brown – Sen. from Ohio. Firebrand, strong progressive voice. Good with labor. Good political base. YES.
8. Jerry Brown – Gov. of California. Great progressive voice. Turned California around. Great governor. Too old. NO.
7. Chris Murphy – Sen. of Connecticut. Tim Kaine-like. Great senator, progressive voice. Not strong enough. NO.
6. Cory Booker – Sen. of New Jersey. New Jersey; ’nuff said. He’d be compared continuously to Obama to the negative. Weak MAYBE.
5. Kamala Harris – Sen. of California. Great candidate, highly qualified, well spoken, inspirational. But can she carry the middle working class whites? Give her the benefit of the doubt. YES.
4. Kirsten Gillibrand – Sen. of New York. Great possibility until she kneecapped Al Franken for her own benefit. NO.
3. Elizabeth Warren – Sen. of Massachusetts. Great progressive voice, highly qualified. It would be hard for her to carry the center. MAYBE.
2. Joe Biden – Love me some Joe Biden, but he’ll be 75 in 2020. He should have run in 2016. Too old. He should go back to the Senate. NO.
1. Bernie Sanders – Great progressive voice, inspirational to millions. Too old, unelectable. NO.
The other one missing from the list here is Hillary. That’s good, since her time is done, she’s a two time loser, and will be too old. Oh, and the Castro brothers don’t have enough seasoning yet. One of them needs to be governor, the other senator. And what about Sally Yates? She’s a former US attorney, former Deputy Attorney General. She needs to run for US Senate from Georgia in 2020 and knock out David Perdue. Better yet, she could run for governor, knock off Nathan Deal THIS YEAR, then run for president. Having said all that, here’s my ranking, and I would like to know what you think, or if you have other candidate ideas:
- Oprah ★
- Kamala Harris
- Sherrod Brown
- Deval Patrick
- Elizabeth Warren
- Cory Booker
- Andrew Cuomo
And then there’s always Tom Hanks, right?
Conservative columnist Bill Kristol (who is anti-Trump) has already tweeted “I’m with her” about Oprah.
And why not? Who would have thought a thrice married, reality show huckster would ever be sitting in the Oval Office?
1I would like to add Gov. John Hickenlooper of Colorado,former mayor of Denver and before that a beer brewer. He’s youngish’ has been on the executive political path,is popular in CO and seems quite pragmatic.
2I am not feeling the Oprah thing…so many just “can’t stand her” my husband is one. I would go for Deval Patrick on your list. A. Quomo possible, young and who does not like Sandra Lee. Like most ( I think) I wish Biden had run last time. I agree might be too old, may have missed the window of opportunity. E. Warren, not feeling it either. She can rubbed even me the wrong way.
3I love me some Oprah, but just because she inspires, doesn’t mean she can govern. I think we’ve been there, done that. I am looking for one of the Democrats who has done their time in public service, whether it be running a state or representing a state on the national level. Someone with a clue about the big picture who can juggle all the balls that will be thrown at them. There are plenty of those on ‘the list’ with solid D cred, and I agree with you from there on. If we can say that Hillary’s time has passed, so has Joe’s (run and lost in primaries) and Bernie’s (ditto). The guys should follow Hillary’s lead and work with organizations that develop the next generation of leadership. Speaking as a MA native with most of my family still there, I agree with your assessment of Warren, and I think Deval Patrick would have trouble, too. I really like Harris and Brown at this point, can’t wait to see where all this leads! Rumors out here about Jay Inslee making a bid. I like Jay. A lot. I love living in a state with a progressive governor, a kick ass AG and two hard working D Senators, even though I’m in a rural red county. But I’m not sure his appeal will resonate in the center of the country. I love the idea of Sally Yates in the Senate.
4It should be noted that Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is a Republican. Remember that he appeared at the Republican National Convention in 2004 to support “W”?
5Definite YES on Senator Kamala Harris; Senator Cortez-Masto has possibility; and never rule out the Castro brothers, either of whom would be a great candidate.
A Kamala Harris – Joaquin Castro ticket would lock up two large states for popular and electoral vote.
But first, focus down ballot. Both the House & Senate are needed in 2018 and beyond.
6Nathan Deal is a second-term governor and can not run again. And as for electing someone who has never held elected office again, HELL NO!
7Oprah would be miles better than the current occupant, of course, but I don’t want another celebrity. I’m liking Sherrod Brown the best on this list, maybe Kamala Harris but don’t know as much about her. Elizabeth Warren, btw, is on the edge of that “too old” category, she’s 68 now.
8A definite NOOOOOOOO on Oprah. She’s too drawn in by people that are bad for her. No not her.
9I’m thinking like Jane & PKM, Kamala Harris/ Joaquin Castro would be the best to run. They are both popular and she’s very assertive.
Oprah is the best at what she does. What she hasn’t done is hold any kind of political/governmental office. She is used to adoring fans and not the kind of hostility any candidate would face.
Obama showed us that the Presidency isn’t for anybody who is not very, very well-educated and doesn’t have tremendous discipline. I thought we had learned that lesson after W–who, on top of his “Daddy” issues, was also intellectually lazy and made ill thought out decisions.
Now, of course, we have the Orange Moron occupying the White House. How’s that working out for you?
It is my considered opinion that we are all just in thrall to hear a speech that was well written, very well delivered and spoke to the moment. Oprah was brilliant last night. It came as a relief more than anything else.
10This is getting absurd, putting the cart before the critical 2018 mid-term horse, but…
Yes:
1, Sherrod Brown (strong in most all areas, capable of combat, and has great messaging skill, which most Dems are sorely lacking)
2. David Lieu (Rep from CA) One of the smartest available, progressive
Maybe or good VP picks:
1. Chris Murphy
2. Jay Inslee
3. Joaquin Castro (smart, leans progressive,’charismatic'(a ±), lacks experience and recognition)
4. Kamala Harris (smart, great on most issues, likely nationally unelectable)
No, absolutely not, never:
1. Oprah ★ (oh fock, ridiculous pick for ∞ reasons)
2. Deval Patrick (unelectable)
3. Cory Booker (unelectable, WallSt buddy)
4. Andrew Cuomo (you’re effen chittin us, right?)
[last 3 are also East Coasters, which won’t fly nationally)
Would like to see @#1, but unworkable nationally:
11Elizabeth Warren (progressive, smart, honest, but has been pre-targeted for years as a ‘critical threat’ by the ‘Pukes- therefore unelectable [like Hilary was, they can see and plan for future obstacles quite well, why can’t the Dems?])
I thought Seth Meyers’s monologue was well done, too, but that doesn’t mean he should be president. Let’s not get excited about another celebrity just because she’s better than Trump — what isn’t? I know he’s just a congressman and probably “unelectable” (code for Jewish?) but I like Adam Schiff.
12Oprah? NO. She brought Dr Phil and Dr Oz to the public arena. ‘Nuf said.
13I was about to say Oprah gave us Dr Phil and Dr Oz both are awful. I see RA beat me to it. Paint Oprah, Gullible.
14Priority #1 is to get a Democrat in the White House to begin overturning all the damage done to our country by the repugs.
15Given what we saw of the misogyny in 2016, we will have to run a male to ensure electability. It galls me to have to say that but after what happened in 2016, we cannot take chances. After what happened to the most qualified candidate in 2016, I fear another misogynistic backlash.
Priority #2 is experience governing and #3 is dedication to making our government PROGRESSIVE again. Booker, Murphy and Brown all meet those requirements. Kamala Harris, Elizabeth Warren and Kirsten Gillibrand would make excellent VP candidates. When 2028 rolls around, any one of those female VP’s would be ready to go for Prez.
A major success of the right wing media has been to create the “too far left/can’t win the middle” meme. It’s false—polls show that far left candidates like Elizabeth Warren or Bernie Sanders do extremely well with a large slice of the electorate. Polls show that Sanders would have done better against Trump than Clinton—he probably would have won.
Elizabeth Sanders—YES
16Bernie Sanders—YES
As some others pointed out -Oprah! NO!!!!! lots of 4letter words NO!!!
17SHe present us with enough WooWOO BS to make Goop look good!!!! To say nothing about her being a religious godbot!!!
I can’t forgive Karmala Harris for dropping her investigation of Steve Mnuchin (after receiving a campaign donation from him!). She never atoned for that—instead, she makes excuses like, “It was a decision made by the prosecutor’s office” (as if she was not in charge of that office and the decision was not all hers). Until she comes clean about her failure, it’s:
Karmala Harris—NO
18And let’s try to win with someone other than a Corporcrat. That should be the lesson of Hillary Clinton:
Andrew Cuomo—NO
Cory Booker—NO
I keep remembering Elizabeth Warren’s story about Hillary and her switch on the Bankruptcy Bill. She claimed after she became Senator that she switched to supporting that awful bill because the Wall Street corporations that pushed for it were “now my constituents.” News item Hillary—corporations are NEVER constituents because they can’t vote (at least not yet). I am sure that Booker and Cuomo have the same feelings.
19Let me pause for a moment, trying to grasp the fact that the year 2020 is only two years away…..
Okay. Now, Oprah. Please, no. The presidency of the United States is one of the most complicated jobs on Earth. It cannot be performed adequately by someone who has no experience in that kind of job, as we’re seeing now. Dealing with 535 members of Congress, some of them hostile and powerful; responding appropriately to hundreds of foreign heads of state and to unexpected crises; managing a huge executive branch of government… as well as all the ceremonial stuff a president is expected to do every day. I expect the President to be someone who’s held numerous public offices before, starting with low-level ones that are close to constituents, and worked their way up.
20I just do not know why nobody is looking at Sally Yates!
21A southern woman with BRAINS, serious guts,a track record of actually standing up to attack, and a ton of govt experience.
Totally electable – unless there’s a skeleton or two in the closet – and clearly equipped to speak with a clear voice and a powerful moral compass.
Could maybe actually unify a lot of people too.
Kevin Bacon. Because he connects us all.
22Slipstream for the win!
23Oprah is precisely who we do NOT need. Another TV personality. What qualifies her to manage an economy or a foreign policy?
I would much rather our next president be someone who has devoted his/her life to pondering questions of public policy. People like Sherrod Brown and Elizabeth Warren.
24Gazbo, I like Sally Yates a lot but no elected history behind her. We now know what happens when someone with no political experience gets the job! That being said if she ran I would vote for her…maybe even twice!
25If Oprah was president, then Congress would spend all their time looking under their chairs for prizes. It might keep them out of trouble.
“You get a political contribution, and you get a contribution, EVERYONE gets a contribution!”
26I agree that Gellibrand kneecapped Al Franken. I called her office and told her so. She needed to support the ethics investigation that he asked for.
27Work for the election 2018! The rest will shake down.
Oprah? No. No. No. Rich people with no government or political experience are not my choice. Everyone should have learned that from the last election. They aren’t otherwise comparable, but in my opinion she is not acceptable based on her complete lack of experience at anything other than entertainment. I do not want to be entertained by the President of the United States of America.
28Public Service. It is what being an elected official is supposed to be about. P & Z, City Council, State Rep, then Governor or Conressperson. Experience counts and also provides plenty of opportunity to learn and to show one’s true colors. So Oprah? No! She should give City Council a try in one of the places she lives. “Lavallette, New Jersey; an apartment in Chicago; an estate on Fisher Island, Florida; a ski house in Telluride, Colorado; and property on Maui, Hawaii and Antigua.”
29I like Sen. Warren but remain curious as to how an intelligent, compassionate adult could remain a Republican through the mid 1990’s.
Sounds like I need to learn more about Yates, Brown, and Harris.
As a Massachusetts resident, I’d say No to Deval Patrick. He doesn’t have the fire to go all the way.
Andrew Cuomo is unelectable — probably even in NYS again.
Cory Booker — Wall Street connections.
Kamala Harris — too soon.
The best and brightest: Sherrod Brown. Pass it on.
30Oprah, no. We need someone with governing experience.
31Kamala Harris, don’t know enough about her to have a solid judgment but she just took office as a US Senator a year ago. She’s young enough to get seasoned in Congress, build a reputation and then run for President. She’s still in her early 50’s so there is time.
Elizabeth Warren, no. She’s too valuable where she is now. Leave her in the Senate with enough other Democrats to give us the majority and let her do her thing there. As a powerful voice in the Senate she potentially could get a lot more accomplished than as President. Her age is also a factor, as it is with Biden, Sanders and Brown (Jerry, that is).
Sally Yates sounds promising. While she has no elective experience, being number 2 in the Justice Department is definitely a political position. A term as a governor would give her the remaining experience she would need.
Can we stop talking about the Castro brothers? There are 38 electoral votes in a state neither has been willing to run for statewide office in. I’m sure either would love to serve in appointed office (get picked for VP). Enough already.
Suzy
32Another NO for Oprah.
https://www.theroot.com/oprahs-not-americas-mammy-please-dont-ask-her-to-clean-1821880731
33Another experience-free, big-money, TV entertainer for president? Unh-unh. No way, no how. Not a chance.
Hadn’t you noticed? We’ve got one of those in power right now, and he’s seeing how fast he can put us all into the sewer. If this Oprah thing takes off, I’m through with the Democratic Party. Period.
34What about Gavin Newsom? I know he’s running for governor of California this year. Let’s see, has a California governor ever become president? Let me think….. He has the looks, he is 50 years old. Former SF mayor and current California Lt. Governor. Former businessman. Had the good sense to divorce his first wife who was a Fox News contributor. He’s right on all the progressive issues. At least for VP. Please.
35Cuomo is a complete and utter turd.
36Gavin Newsom came to mind for me too. I know his strengths but I don’t know his weaknesses.
37What??? Ya really want to take a third shot with a teevee personality with absolutely no government experience?
Really? Haven’t we learned?
NOPRAH!
38Sally Yates is smart and tough, but she has the charisma of a brick. I don’t see her as being electable.
39I’m with Buttermilk, Adam Schiff is worth a serious look. As to Sally Yates, trust me there are few things as political as DOJ. It may not be an elected office but there is one woman who knows how to navigate the halls of power, if she didn’t she never would have risen that high. I adore Joe Biden, I can tell you he is a genuinely nice man, sadly his time has passed.
It would be great to vote for Oprah, she’s smart, articulate, has an amazing personal story, is self made and a billionaire all things the current occupant of the White House can’t say. She has superlative connections, great friends, a diverse group of business contacts and most of them would not only go to bat for her, they’d actively work for her. Heck she could self fund her own campaign. Women would work for her and she’d have a stable of spokespeople that would be the envy of darned near anyone. Don’t count her out.
Newsome is intriguing, Lieu is articulate. I like Harris, I love Elizabeth Warren. Warren is very effective where she is, she’d be delightful at SCOTUS.
3 months ago I would have said Gillibrand, her move on Franken hurt her, the process needed to play out. Was that a good move for her? For the Party? Hard call.
One thing I do know, 2018 comes first. Sign up to work on volunteer boards at the local and state level. RUN for office, register people to vote, suit up, show up, and push for progressive initiatives and candidates from dog catcher on up to US Representatives. It’s the only way to make a change we wait for 2020 at our own peril.
40I think we need a leader who is a passionate motivator, who offers hope and belief in the goodness of this country. I’d support Oprah in a heartbeat. She’s the diametric opposite of Orange Whore. She really did raise herself by her own bootstraps. She’s mentally sound, compassionate, caring, etc. Yes, Oprah did make mistakes with the “drs” Phil and Oz, a few decades ago. Those aren’t her only mistakes either.
Oprah is smart. If she became president I’m willing to bet she would rely on the Obamas for a great deal of advice and she’d listen. Most of all, she’d renew the heart and soul of this country. Oprah knows what makes America great and she would empower us to get there.
Those of you who have personal dislikes ought to try to get beyond that and look at the big picture. Yes, there are some people who really don’t like her, and a majority who adore her. Oprah would be a lock and she’d work very hard.
41I think our candidate needs to be relatively young to garner the millennial vote. No candidates in their 70s or 80s. If we can’t get Oprah then look for someone in their 40s or 50s. Kamala Harris.
42so … the argument is that things are so bad now, why not let someone else just as unqualified have a shot at it?
i expect she’s not that much of a narcissist, but if she is, we will need stronger commentary than this to get through it.
43EJ, What is it with you and blonde female senators from New York? Gillibrand’s motives are dishonorable because you think they are? Did she send you a note? And the best reason for counting Hillary out is her own word that she isn’t going to run. But Hillary haters never believe what she says.
44Also joining the noes on Oprah. She’s a great person, but we don’t need any more amateurs in the White House.
“. And what about Sally Yates? She’s a former US attorney, form Deputy Attorney General. She needs to run for US Senate from Georgia in 2020 and knock out David Perdue. Better yet, she could run for governor, knock off Nathan Deal THIS YEAR, then run for president. ”
45The Odious Nathan Deal is term limited: and Yates, who I would vote for in a second, will face whoever the Republicans nominate. My representative and Speaker of the GA House David Ralston is mentioned (and has plenty of baggage, mostly using his position in the Lege to delay and drag out civil cases for his legal clients), as are declared candidates, right wing bomb tosser Lt. Gov.Casey Cagle, and current GA. Sec of State Brian Kemp, who’s term has been marked by loss of +2 million Georgians’ private voter registration data…
@Msb – Uh, you are following this story, right? Why is it that whenever someone (me) criticizes a female politician that others make it all about looks and gender? Hillary was a terrible candidate, and that’s well documented. Gillibrand, who took Bill Clinton’s money and endorsement then suddenly turns on him over the alleged actions of Franken. She kneecaps Franken. That’s undisputed. She’s positioning to run for president. That’s not me divining anything. I just read a lot.
http://thehill.com/homenews/senate/364022-gillibrand-is-subject-of-debate-over-franken-clinton
https://www.politico.com/story/2017/12/18/manchin-franken-senate-resign-300843
http://www.syracuse.com/opinion/index.ssf/2017/12/sen_gillibrands_stand_on_sexual_harassers_is_pure_politics_your_letters.html
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/politics/2017/12/18/leahy-regrets-calling-franken-resign/962194001/
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/12/07/kirsten-gillibrand-profile-feature-sexual-assault-2017-216053
46@ EJ
47Ah, the famous “ambitious women are evil” trope. Gee, we’ve never seen that operating throughout Hillary’s career. (/ snark, just to be clear) I should have known.
Why do I think your criticism of blond female senators from NY is sexist. Cos it looks that way from here. Do you call ‘em like you see ‘em? Good, so do I.
How nice that you read a lot. So do I, isn’t that interesting?
Gillibrand did not “kneecap” my senator, whom I liked very much, Al Franken. Al Franken kneecapped Al Franken. Franken molested several women. That is well documented.
It’s a very old story: You don’t want to ruin your hubby’s career by reporting this to the police, do you dearie?
It’s all on Franken, and much as I hated to see him go, this is all on him. If he would have kept his hands to himself there would be no issue At All. Al is totally responsible for what he did and that there is something to respond to is all his fault. Don’t blame the woman when the man’s behavior leads to trouble for him.
48@ Deb – That’s BS. It’s not “well documented” in the slightest. His main antagonist is a well known nude model who’s famous for playing grab ass with men and being provocative on and off stage. She’s famous for her on-air discussion with Howard Stern about her sexual preferences. She’s a paid rightwing talker. You can’t seriously consider her charges as legitimate. Franken was railroaded, led by Gillibrand. Sorry, but facts are facts, and you’re on the wrong side of this one.
49