One thing we learned from Trump is that you don’t have to have had any experience in government, let alone any knowledge about anything relevant to being president to become president. Tragically we discovered that if you have charisma, albeit charisma that seems inexplicable to liberals and rational Republicans, it will resonate with many people. We learned the hard way the power of the blatant lie, oft told. We rediscovered the power of a demagog to take over a country.
As I thought about the potential Democratic candidates for 2020 I didn’t see anyone who could pull off a Donald Trump without the lies and hate.
As much as I admire Elizabeth Warren, and I’m reluctant to suggest this; but I think she is both too old and that being a woman will be an obstacle to the landslide the Democrats need. I’d see her either staying in the Senate or running for vice president. Another shot at the glass ceiling may have to wait.
Only if Trump is such an obvious failure that his current glazed eyes supporters abandon him would Warren stand a chance. There are other well know “possibles" already in government, but except for a few like Cuomo, Biden, Franken, Bloomberg, and even Michelle Obama, they are not nearly as well known as Warren.
The primary short term issue with me is that the Democrats must do their damnest to regain the Senate and try to take the House back. The later is a stretch and depends to a large extent on how many voters in Republican districts see that the Trump government hasn’t fulfilled any promises that they can personally relate to their lives.
When it comes the 2020 presidential, no matter which Republican runs, it is imperative at the Democrats run somebody who will not only win, but bring along many of Democratic Party candidates Republican districts in Congress and the states. We need a mandate, a true landslide.
I think Democrats have to stop looking of their perfect ideological candidate. I think they have to find a candidate who will win. We can’t stand another 2016 with the party split between Bernie and Hillary supporters, and certainly can’t allow a candidate with the high negatives that Hillary brought with her.
Michael Moore mused that we should run someone who everyone already loves:
"Democrats need to start running people who are inspiring," he said. "The Republicans, they run Ronald Regan, they run [Arnold] Schwarzenegger. Why aren't we running Tom Hanks or Oprah? I don't say that as a joke. I'm really serious. Why don't we run people who are beloved by the American people?” www.businessinsider.com/...
I was racking my brain last night trying to think of a candidate who might fit the bill. I came up with Mark Cuban. He doesn’t fit the Michael Moore criteria, but unlike Hanks and Oprah he has already flirted with the idea of running for president or vice president.
Cuban will be only 62 in 2020. Although he has supported both Republicans and Democrats, he was outspoken in his backing Hillary and being appalled by Donald Trump.
In May he said this on Meet the Press —
When you look at Donald now, today ... you don’t say, wow, he’s really come a long way. His positions are more detailed. He’s shown a detailed understanding. He’s really made an investment in time to learn about any given position or issue. He just hasn’t. He hasn’t learned. And that’s a real problem. As I said before, it’s become a candidacy about nothing, the Seinfeld candidacy. And that’s a problem.
This was mild compared to how he reacted to the unhinged Tweeting Trump who emerged as his campaign devoted into an anger fueled fact-free hatefest. By July 30th, when he announced his support for Hillary "You know what we call a person like that in Pittsburgh? A jagoff [...] Is there any bigger jagoff in the world than Donald Trump?"
I’m certainly not the first or only one to besides Cuban himself to think about his running for president. In the summer he was said to be flirting with running as an independent. In May Chris Cillizza speculated in The Washington Post that he might run in 2020 or 2024 as a Republican.
Let’s resort to Wikipedia to take an overview of Cuban the potential president.
Cuban is an admirer of author and philosopher Ayn Rand.[121] About Rand's novel The Fountainhead, he said, "[It] was incredibly motivating to me. It encouraged me to think as an individual, take risks to reach my goals, and responsibility for my successes and failures. I loved it."[122] His political views have leaned toward libertarianism.[123] He held a position on the centrist Unity08 political organization's advisory council.[124] While leaning towards libertarianism, Cuban posted an entry on his blog claiming paying more taxes to be the most patriotic thing someone can do.[125]
Cuban has donated $7,000 to political campaigns, $6,000 going to Republican Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah and $1,000 to Democratic California Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren.[126]
On February 8, 2008, Cuban voiced his support for the draft Bloomberg movement attempting to convince New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg to run in the U.S. presidential election of 2008 on his blog. Cuban concluded a post lamenting the current state of U.S. politics: "Are you listening, Mayor Bloomberg? For less than the cost of opening a tent pole movie, you can change the status quo."[127] He eventually voted for Barack Obama in the 2008 election.[128]
In November 2012, in response to Donald Trump offering President Barack Obama $5 million to a charity of President Obama's choosing if he released passport applications and college transcripts to the public, Cuban offered Trump $1 million to a charity of Trump's choosing if Trump shaved his head.[129]
In September 2015, Cuban stated in an interview that running for president was "a fun idea to toss around", and that, if he were running in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, he "could beat both Trump and Clinton".[139][140] This was interpreted by many media outlets as indication that Cuban was considering running, but he clarified soon afterward that he had no intention to do so.[141]
In October 2015, Cuban posted on Twitter, "Maybe I'll run for Speaker of the House."[142] At the time, there was no clear front-runner to replace the outgoing John Boehner; the Speaker of the House does not have to be a member of Congress.[143]
Cuban told Meet the Press in May 2016 that he would be open to being Hillary Clinton's running mate in the 2016 presidential election, though he would seek to alter some of her positions in order to do so.[144] In the same interview, the self described "fiercely independent" Cuban also said that he would consider running as Republican nominee Donald Trump's running mate after having a meeting with Trump, whom he called a friend, about understanding the issues, Trump's positions on them, and coming up with solutions. Cuban also described Trump as "that friend that you just shake your head at. He's that guy who’d get drunk and fall over all the time, or just says dumb shit all the time, but he's your friend."[145] On July 21, 2016, Cuban appeared on a live segment on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert entitled "Gloves Off: Mark Cuban Edition" in which he mocked Trump, including referencing the Trump companies’ multiple bankruptcies and the failed Trump University program, and questioning the size of Trump's actual net worth.[146]
In a September 10, 2016, interview with NPR's Scott Simon, Cuban effectively positioned himself to support Clinton. He posited that the best strategy to beat Trump was to attack his insecurities, especially that of his intellect. He also added that Trump is the least qualified to be president and is not informed about policies.[147]
On September 27, 2016, during a post Presidential Debate interview, Cuban criticized Trump's characterization that paying the minimum required taxes 'is smart' and criticized Trump for not paying back into the system that allowed him to amass such wealth.[148] en.wikipedia.org/...
Okay, but:
He admired Ayn Rand… and he’s something of a libertarian… and far from a Bernie Sanders progressive… but he’s smart, rich, handsome, and compared to everyone else on the Democratic bench, he’s young. He could be an antidote to the venomous Trump.