# Hee-haw, y'all. The 2020 Democratic Presidential Primary **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 12, 2018, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415 "2018-11-12T17:52:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 1050
**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:** [May 8, 2019, 9:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415/1050 "2019-05-08T09:22:12Z")
Perhaps I’m a natural pessimist. But some of you are cock-eyed optimists. (If you think I’m too pessimistic, let that spur you into action.) > [@Joe Biden's in](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-bidens-in/833042/173): > > Bill Clinton came up from 5% because he was an amazing campaigner with outsized oratory skills who connected with wide swaths of voters. Hillary Clinton lost despite a commanding lead because she was running against someone with similar skills and abilities. > > Biden will likely not get the nom if someone demonstrates those mad skillz this time. Too soon to say that they won’t. But if no one shows those chops he’s the default nominee. The early numbers at least mean that thing. “Too soon to say that someone won’t demonstrate mad skillz”? Barack Obama was widely lauded even before his famous oration of 2004. Bill Clinton became Governor at age 32 — one of the youngest Governors ever — and had some national fame even before his bid for the Oval. _If we had someone with the charisma of Obama or even Clinton, we’d know it already._ Heck, I’d settle for the folksy charm of a Dubya — we don’t even have that. Obama, BTW, was special in that he moved from the Senate straight to the White House. Historically, Presidents have higher credentials than that: Governor, Vice Pres., Secy of State, or Supreme Commander. Some of the touted candidates don’t even have a Senator bullet on their resume. The right woman might appeal to the white men of the Rust Belt, but that woman isn’t Warren or Harris. (Might Klobuchar have a chance?) These eliminations leave us with just three among the frontrunners: [ul][li] Joe Biden. Even if he appears hale and hearty throughout the campaign, the haters will insist that he release a full medical report and any minor ailment will be blown out of proportion. (Obviously this will be gross hypocrisy given the Dotard-in-Chief’s condition, but hypocrisy is the GOP’s motto.)[/li][li] Bernie Sanders. He was a friend of Fidel Castro. Eighteen months from now, he’ll be viewed as a friend of Josef Stalin and Ho Chi Minh. I just wonder if his motive for running is masochism or sadism.[/li][li] Cory Booker. Bright and qualified. But is he charismatic?[/li][/ul] And … _who else is there?_ (The media and money are already sucking oxygen away from any dark-horse.) Maybe a generic Democrat could beat Trump, but we don’t have a generic candidate. We’ve got two geriatric candidates and a non-charismatic black man. I expect our tragedy to last Four More Years. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hee-haw-yall-the-2020-democratic-presidential-primary/824415)._