# 2020 Prez hopefuls... your take or your candidates **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 12, 2017, 7:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-prez-hopefuls-your-take-or-your-candidates/801413 "2017-11-12T07:52:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2017, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-prez-hopefuls-your-take-or-your-candidates/801413/61 "2017-11-15T00:37:15Z")
> [@What\_Exit](#): > > Yes, but the as shitty as the Inquirer was/is their goal is only to sell their crap, your link is to a partisan rag. And maybe the fact that it’s partisan is enough for you to dismiss the allegations. If so, more power to you. ---
**Author:** ![Aspenglow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspenglow/32/76_2.png) [@Aspenglow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspenglow)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2017, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-prez-hopefuls-your-take-or-your-candidates/801413/62 "2017-11-15T00:43:01Z")
> [@Wilson](#): > > Ugh… Cory Booker. I like his stances on a lot of issues (single payer in particular), but so many things about him rub me the wrong way. He plays it up for the media too much (Oprah, the whole “feud” bit with Conan); he’s got these odd libertarian stances on some things (charter schools and vouchers); and it seems to me an open question as to whether he actually did any good as mayor of Newark, which remains a mess. > > Not that I think he’ll run, but the one who’s impressed me in the admittedly little I’ve seen/read about him, is Washington governor Jay Inslee. Your problems with Booker are the same as my problems with Booker. I’ll certainly take him over any Republican, but the charter school/voucher stuff bothers me a lot. Jay Inslee would be a great pick. So would either of my very active Oregon Senators, Wyden and Merkley. Unfortunately, they lack name recognition and they’re West Coasters. Same problem Inslee has, unfortunately. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2017, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-prez-hopefuls-your-take-or-your-candidates/801413/63 "2017-11-15T00:43:59Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > For all the Biden fans, you’re probably not spending much time reading at this site, but you might want to be aware of [these accusations](http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2017/11/exclusive-former-joe-biden-secret-service-agent-protect-women-weinstein-level-stuff/): > > Note: I’m obviously not in a position to assess the truthfulness of the agent’s claims, but they are out there in the public domain. Since when is walking around one’s residence at night naked “Weinstein level stuff?” ETA: And I could be wrong, but I suspect if a Secret Service agent shoved the Vice President, the punishment would exceed a week’s suspension. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2017, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-prez-hopefuls-your-take-or-your-candidates/801413/64 "2017-11-15T00:44:39Z")
A scandal sheet got something right once, therefore we should believe everything we read on partisan, scandal-drive web sites. Uhm, no. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2017, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-prez-hopefuls-your-take-or-your-candidates/801413/65 "2017-11-15T00:47:01Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > And maybe the fact that it’s partisan is enough for you to dismiss the allegations. If so, more power to you. You’re funny. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2017, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-prez-hopefuls-your-take-or-your-candidates/801413/66 "2017-11-15T00:47:05Z")
> [@John\_Mace](#): > > A scandal sheet got something right once, therefore we should believe everything we read on partisan, scandal-drive web sites. Uhm, no. That wasn’t at all what I said. I recognize that scandal sheets are usually wrong, as is, I suspect, the Gateway Pundit. They are not _always_ wrong though, and that ought to figure into your calculations somewhere. ---
**Author:** ![HurricaneDitka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/96bed5/32.png) [@HurricaneDitka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HurricaneDitka)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2017, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-prez-hopefuls-your-take-or-your-candidates/801413/67 "2017-11-15T00:50:27Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > Since when is walking around one’s residence at night naked “Weinstein level stuff?” … I suspect it has something to do with the female SS agents being present: > [@](#): > > Best-selling author Ronald Kessler wrote about Biden’s problem with female agents in his book The First Family Detail. > > “Agents say that, whether at the vice president’s residence or at his home in Delaware, Biden has a habit of swimming in his pool nude,” Kessler wrote. “Female Secret Service agents find that offensive.” ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2017, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-prez-hopefuls-your-take-or-your-candidates/801413/68 "2017-11-15T00:50:44Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > That wasn’t at all what I said. I recognize that scandal sheets are usually wrong, as is, I suspect, the Gateway Pundit. They are not _always_ wrong though, and that ought to figure into your calculations somewhere. If they’re right, the main stream press will pick up the story. We can revisit it when that happens. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2017, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-prez-hopefuls-your-take-or-your-candidates/801413/69 "2017-11-15T01:06:11Z")
> [@iiandyiiii](#): > > It was turnout that won the recent Virginia elections, not reaching out to the middle or trying to persuade swing voters. Democrats actually came out and voted in big numbers, which they didn’t in WI, MI, and PA, in 2016. I don’t even think the VA campaign mattered much – VA Democrats were pissed about Trump and Charlottesville and the like and voted as such. > > Which, in my mind, reinforces that we Democrats should have a Presidential candidate who excites and motivates Democrats to want to come out and vote for them. That’s how Obama won – Democratic turnout was very, very high. He appealed to many crossover/swing voters too, but he didn’t need them – if working class white voters had voted like they did for Trump in '08 and '12, Obama still would have won (albeit more closely) based on the very high Democratic voter turnout (I don’t have a cite handy for this – it comes from my memory of various past analyses). Either method can work. Base turnout worked for Obama, and appealing to swing voters worked for Bill Clinton. But here’s the thing: base turnout isn’t a strategy. Democrats have tried to make it a strategy but nothing they can do motivates base turnout. Democrats are either motivated or they aren’t. Obama motivated them. Trump motivated them in 2019. He may or may not motivate them in 2020. Since you can’t make base turnout happen, then you might as well appeal to swing voters, since you can control that. Obama concentrated on swing voters, while knowing that base turnout was going to benefit him. Clinton ignored swing voters and also counted on base turnout. She even tried to stoke it. Fail. ---
**Author:** ![Thing\_Fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecb155/32.png) [@Thing\_Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing_Fish)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2017, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-prez-hopefuls-your-take-or-your-candidates/801413/70 "2017-11-15T06:17:53Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > And maybe the fact that it’s partisan is enough for you to dismiss the allegations. If so, more power to you. Actually, the fact that the “allegations” are being made by one anonymous source would be enough for me to…well, ignore them. I can’t “dismiss” them because I’m not a judge, and it’s certainly possible that more evidence may emerge. But I don’t see any reason to take them at all seriously at this point. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2017, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-prez-hopefuls-your-take-or-your-candidates/801413/71 "2017-11-15T06:27:07Z")
I think the jury is WAY out on Harris and she has vulnerabilities in her record that can be attacked already from her time as AG. I’m very skeptical she’ll ever be a national candidate. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2017, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-prez-hopefuls-your-take-or-your-candidates/801413/72 "2017-11-15T07:11:06Z")
Benjamin Sasse. Evan McMullin. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2017, 7:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-prez-hopefuls-your-take-or-your-candidates/801413/73 "2017-11-15T07:36:01Z")
Ben Sasse! Yes! My new hero. McMulliin is a decent guy and he proved he can compete with little support, but I really think he should set his sights on lower elected office first. On the GOP side I still like Rubio, although he’s still not ready, and also Nikki Haley, who is, as well as Kasich. I’ve always been a Huntsman fan but I guess he’s decided to just settle in to being a non-partisan diplomat. Very likely to be SecState some day. I’ve always loved Jeff FLake and Bob Corker too, should they decide to oppose Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2017, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-prez-hopefuls-your-take-or-your-candidates/801413/74 "2017-11-15T15:06:36Z")
> [@HurricaneDitka](#): > > And maybe the fact that it’s partisan is enough for you to dismiss the allegations. If so, more power to you. It’s literally a fake news site. Half of their “headlines” are just links to other people’s YouTube videos. Which is not to say I don’t think Biden hasn’t been creepy at times. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2017, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-prez-hopefuls-your-take-or-your-candidates/801413/75 "2017-11-15T20:47:52Z")
I’m vaguely hoping for a Democrat to win the presidency who then appoints Hillary Clinton as Attorney General, and she spends four years investigating, prosecuting and convicting every Trump associate and cabinet member. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2017, 10:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-prez-hopefuls-your-take-or-your-candidates/801413/76 "2017-11-15T22:42:54Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I’m vaguely hoping for a Democrat to win the presidency who then appoints Hillary Clinton as Attorney General, and she spends four years investigating, prosecuting and convicting every Trump associate and cabinet member. A democrat who ran with a credible promise that they would investigate the hell out of every Clinton and crony scandal,and basically excommunicate them, would get 400+ electoral votes in 2020. The Primary season would be a lot iffier. 😉 but not impossible. ---
**Author:** ![Bone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bone/32/407_2.png) [@Bone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bone)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2017, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-prez-hopefuls-your-take-or-your-candidates/801413/77 "2017-11-15T22:59:45Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > Cory Booker is the only Democrat not totally unwilling to run who can capture the public imagination. I like Franken, but let’s face it: he’s a stand-up comic temporarily doing serious work. I suspect there are more than enough drug and alcohol related skeletons in his closet to doom a presidential campaign (and I’m sure that’s why he’ll never run). After reading (listening to audio book) Franken’s latest book, I actually like the guy. He seems very thoughtful and willing to do the work. I disagree with his politics quite a bit I think, but he’s more than just a comedian by a long shot. And have you seen him draw the 50 states by hand? That is pretty impressive 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2017, 10:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-prez-hopefuls-your-take-or-your-candidates/801413/78 "2017-11-16T10:41:00Z")
> [@wolfman](#): > > A democrat who ran with a credible promise that they would investigate the hell out of every Clinton and crony scandal,and basically excommunicate them, would get 400+ electoral votes in 2020. > > The Primary season would be a lot iffier. 😉 but not impossible. While I’m firmly in the “it’s time for Hillary and her friends to shut the hell up and go away” camp, she’s been rigorously investigated for the past 25 years by people determined to bring her down and they’ve found no more than a few crumbs (and certainly nothing criminal). I’d druther government resources be put to better use elsewhere. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2017, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-prez-hopefuls-your-take-or-your-candidates/801413/79 "2017-11-16T13:34:44Z")
It’s sad how many Democrats still haven’t come to accept what all that lack of evidence actually means, and insist that all those Republican allegations mean she must be guilty of at least some of them, or of something else, anyway she’s just dirty and it’s time to move on. Starting with the \*facts \*gets you to about the opposite conclusion instead. The Big Lie works, and that makes it useful against your political opponents. But shame on those who buy into it. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2017, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-prez-hopefuls-your-take-or-your-candidates/801413/80 "2017-11-16T17:32:05Z")
No more mention of this guy? > [@septimus](#): > > I doubt whether Franken would do a good job as President, but of course that’s irrelevant. The only thing that matters is choosing a candidate most likely to win a general election. > > Al Franken is a sarcastic hard left-winger who insults people. If he’s so popular, why did _Air America_ go bankrupt? Those opposing him get a two-for-one deal on him: He’s intellectual, which is bad. But he’s also a comic, for heaven’s sakes. A comic for President?? A comic whose stock-in-trade is to ridicule Americans. > > [del]Don’t get me wrong: I and many informed Americans would love to see Franken elected![/del] _ **But we need a candidate who can appeal to some of the uninformed Americans of Flyoverland.** _ > > Progressive Democrats have become so vocal, they overlook that they’re just a small minority of voters. (I’ve reddened a sentence or two.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-prez-hopefuls-your-take-or-your-candidates/801413.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/2020-prez-hopefuls-your-take-or-your-candidates/801413.md?page=5)