# So we seem to have only one sure candidate in 2020... **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 13, 2018, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-seem-to-have-only-one-sure-candidate-in-2020/806496 "2018-01-13T00:04:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-seem-to-have-only-one-sure-candidate-in-2020/806496/1 "2018-01-13T00:04:21Z")
And it’s Terry Mcauliffe. > **[McAuliffe leaves office headed for campaign trails, proud of record - WTOP News](https://wtop.com/virginia/2018/01/mcauliffe-leaves-office-headed-campaign-trails-proud-record/)** > > After four years of exuberance, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe leaves office Saturday proud of his term and with a plan for the future that includes crisscrossing the country for campaign stops and… No, he hasn’t announced, but the buzz around him as been that he’s almost definitely running, and he’s smart enough to know that the only chance he has is to get out in front. That’s usually a position of weakness for a candidate, but there’s also nothing to lose because he’ll be the only guy who people are listening to with the Presidency firmly in mind for awhile. Booker, Harris, Warren, Biden, etc., maybe they will maybe they won’t. To be fair to Terry, he’s a smart, disciplined guy in the Clinton mold and now he has Clinton’s level of experience before seeking the Presidency. He’s a proven fundraiser, so if money means anything anymore in Presidential politics he has to be taken seriously. And now the big, huge downsides: Democrats want sizzle, he’s boring. Democrats want diversity, he’s another boring white guy and Biden and Sanders are both a lot more interesting. The voters in general are tired of politics as usual and Terry drinks that stuff like mother’s milk. I think he creates the same matchup problems with Trump as Hillary. He’d be a typical politician running against a raving lunatic, but an authentic raving lunatic. And a raving lunatic who might be presiding over peace and prosperity and who in three years might be regarded as more of a harmless curiosity in the White House rather than a threat to the Republic. On the other hand, Terry has one BIG thing going for him. I think almost everyone but hard core Republicans will agree that he’s up to the job. He is ready to be President and he’d probably make a very good President. Against someone clearly unfit for office, how could voters go any other way? I think Terry also realizes that experience may be an asset in 2020 in a way it’s usually not, so 2020 might be his year. Thoughts? Is there anyone at all here among Democrats that actually wants this guy, or is he the very definition of “sigh, FINE!” if there’s no one better? ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-seem-to-have-only-one-sure-candidate-in-2020/806496/2 "2018-01-13T00:09:45Z")
I didn’t like him as a candidate, but voted for him for governor, and I’ve been very pleased in general with his term as governor. I still don’t like him as a candidate for President. I think he’s unable to come across as genuine, to the point that he’s even worse at appearing genuine and authentic than Hillary Clinton. I’d certainly vote for him over Trump, but he’d be low on my list for President compared to most other Democratic governors and senators (and Biden). ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-seem-to-have-only-one-sure-candidate-in-2020/806496/3 "2018-01-13T00:56:14Z")
He has the same problems Clinton did (minus 25+ years of whisper campaigning by the oppo party): he’s solidly, 100% corporate DLC establishment. I have no problem voting for that (I’m a big fan of expertise) but we’ve seen how that can be exploited. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-seem-to-have-only-one-sure-candidate-in-2020/806496/4 "2018-01-13T01:00:20Z")
There have been so many good on paper candidates over the years that have fallen off quickly once campaigning begins after the midterms that it is just too early to tell. Jeb Bush, Rick Perry, and Rudy Giuliani come to mind in recent elections. Mcauliffe at his best would be a Democratic Mitt Romney. At his worst, he’s the 2020 Martin O’Malley and will either quickly exit stage left or be consigned to kiddie table debates if the field is as large as I expect. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-seem-to-have-only-one-sure-candidate-in-2020/806496/5 "2018-01-13T03:13:03Z")
we do not need DLC third way democrats as party leaders and standard bearers. As senators or representatives? Fine (if that is the most leftward we can get in that district. I’d take a DLC democrat over a republican anyday). Income inequality is at a very high level, and the rich fully control government. There is a reason Sanders was a total unknown but almost totally beat Hillary in the primary. The public know we live in a corrupt plutocracy and they want action to fix it. Not token reforms that never offend the rich and powerful. I don’t mind people like Terry as Governor (if that is the most leftward governor you can realistically get) but we can do better for president. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-seem-to-have-only-one-sure-candidate-in-2020/806496/6 "2018-01-13T03:18:56Z")
Yeah, it’s always good to have a “pull lever in case of emergency” candidate that no one really wants, but might be the best that can be found if others falter. I actually don’t think the field will be huge, due to the fact that serious Democrats are less prone to flights of fancy about their chances as Republicans are. By all rights, there are some candidates in 2016 that should have known they had no chance due to a similar rival in the field. The Democrats don’t usually have that kind of overlap in their top tier. I figure if Sanders runs, Warren doesn’t. If Booker runs, Harris doesn’t. If Biden runs, that probably clears the field of all mainstream Democrats except for token challengers. Starting with McAuliffe, who I’d bet would choose not to run and endorse Biden immediately. So I figure at most we’ll see 3-4 Democratic candidates with a shot at winning by the time we get to fall 2019. Perhaps Biden, Sanders, Booker, and Gillibrand would be the four most likely. What would really be fun is if Clinton decided to just troll everyone and run again. That would be some fun chaos there. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 13, 2018, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-seem-to-have-only-one-sure-candidate-in-2020/806496/7 "2018-01-13T03:21:03Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > we do not need DLC third way democrats as party leaders and standard bearers. As senators or representatives? Fine (if that is the most leftward we can get in that district. I’d take a DLC democrat over a republican anyday). > > Income inequality is at a very high level, and the rich fully control government. There is a reason Sanders was a total unknown but almost totally beat Hillary in the primary. The public know we live in a corrupt plutocracy and they want action to fix it. Not token reforms that never offend the rich and powerful. > > I don’t mind people like Terry as Governor (if that is the most leftward governor you can realistically get) but we can do better for president. I get that all things being equal you’d want a progressive. As a right-winger, all things being equal, I’d want a conservative. But all things are not equal and I’d argue a skilled DLC operator is going to get more worthwhile things done than a young progressive with more heart than brains. I’d also note that a lot of the Democrats, perhaps nearly all of them, who are singing a progressive tune now weren’t progressives 10 years ago. The field is chock full of Romney-types. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-seem-to-have-only-one-sure-candidate-in-2020/806496/8 "2018-01-15T22:56:27Z")
I only know McAuliffe by reputation, but it’s not a good reputation. If I understand correctly, he’s known as an “operator” rather than a “leader;” not Presidential material. And he’s a longtime Clinton associate, which means the progressives will laugh at him. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-seem-to-have-only-one-sure-candidate-in-2020/806496/9 "2018-01-15T23:04:28Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > I only know McAuliffe by reputation, but it’s not a good reputation. If I understand correctly, he’s known as an “operator” rather than a “leader;” not Presidential material. And he’s a longtime Clinton associate, which means the progressives will laugh at him. This was the long-time opinion, but his stint as VA governor kind of changed that. He was fairly effective at actual political leadership in that position and I wouldn’t think twice about voting for him if he actually got the nomination. But his reputation as an operator is quite a bit longer than his reputation as a leader, and I’m somewhat wary of how “the optics” will affect the Bernie-types. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-seem-to-have-only-one-sure-candidate-in-2020/806496/10 "2018-01-15T23:13:50Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I think almost everyone but hard core Republicans will agree that he’s up to the job. No. I think the substantial majority of the electorate will say: “Terry who?” ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-seem-to-have-only-one-sure-candidate-in-2020/806496/11 "2018-01-15T23:15:16Z")
> [@](#): > > And now the big, huge downsides: Democrats want sizzle, he’s boring. Speak for yourself. We’ve got sizzle right now: Good old boring would be a welcome change of pace. ---
**Author:** ![CaptMurdock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/captmurdock/32/11736_2.png) [@CaptMurdock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptMurdock)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-seem-to-have-only-one-sure-candidate-in-2020/806496/12 "2018-01-15T23:26:49Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > No. I think the substantial majority of the electorate will say: “Terry who?” **Flashback to 1991:** I think the substantial majority of the electorate will say: “Bill who?” ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2018, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-seem-to-have-only-one-sure-candidate-in-2020/806496/13 "2018-01-15T23:33:46Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I get that all things being equal you’d want a progressive. As a right-winger, all things being equal, I’d want a conservative. But all things are not equal and I’d argue a skilled DLC operator is going to get more worthwhile things done than a young progressive with more heart than brains. > > I’d also note that a lot of the Democrats, perhaps nearly all of them, who are singing a progressive tune now weren’t progressives 10 years ago. The field is chock full of Romney-types. I want a competent progressive. FDR or LBJ. Someone who is progressive and gets nothing done (Sanders, Kucinich) won’t help things. Why do you feel that progressivism is just a fad? A lot of the progressive movement in my experience is a result of income inequality combined with seeing the right become more and more unhinged. Do you honestly think in the heart of all us progressives beats a desire for Mitt Romney? That is absurd. You know nothing about us if you do. I’m OK with incrementalism if it works. But I’d rather have more meaningful reform if we can get that. We had massive reform under LBJ and FDR. We had incremental reform under Bill Clinton and Obama. Of course LBJ and FDR had massive congressional advantages, and the opposition party wasn’t insane yet. Liberals now make up half of the democratic parties voters. We also make up the bulk of volunteers, people who call politicians, people who fundraise and donate, etc. The idea that the democrats will abandon progressive to appeal to a handful of centrists who are at core republicans but offended by the current white nationalist trend of the GOP and now want to turn the democrat party into what the GOP was 30 years ago? I don’t buy it. ---
**Author:** ![foolsguinea](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foolsguinea/32/14751_2.png) [@foolsguinea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/foolsguinea)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-seem-to-have-only-one-sure-candidate-in-2020/806496/14 "2018-01-16T05:35:52Z")
“Liberals”? Excuse me, the word is “progressives.” ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-seem-to-have-only-one-sure-candidate-in-2020/806496/15 "2018-01-16T16:33:26Z")
> [@CaptMurdock](#): > > **Flashback to 1991:** > > I think the substantial majority of the electorate will say: “Bill who?” Well, Bill may have been a third-way technocrat and all that, but he also has a magnetic personality, and knew how to work the camera from the beginning (he doesn’t get enough credit for that). Sizzle sells. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 4:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-seem-to-have-only-one-sure-candidate-in-2020/806496/16 "2018-01-16T16:43:57Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > Why do you feel that progressivism is just a fad? A lot of the progressive movement in my experience is a result of income inequality combined with seeing the right become more and more unhinged. Do you honestly think in the heart of all us progressives beats a desire for Mitt Romney? That is absurd. You know nothing about us if you do. Progressivism itself isn’t a fad, but most powerful politicians are not progressives and the ones who are singing that tune now weren’t progressives until very recently. Which means they just aren’t progressives, or they were lying about their centrism before. Either way, they shouldn’t be in the White House. > [@](#): > > The idea that the democrats will abandon progressive to appeal to a handful of centrists who are at core republicans but offended by the current white nationalist trend of the GOP and now want to turn the democrat party into what the GOP was 30 years ago? I don’t buy it. Those are the swing voters. Until one party or the other starts winning elections by 10 points or more again, Obama/Trump voters are going to be getting a lot of attention. And surpisingly, a lot of those voters have progressive leanings. Lots of Bernie supporters in that group. But it’s also accurate to call it a very old progressivism, closer to New Deal progressivism than post-Civil rights progressivism. Civil rights just doesn’t seem to be on these peoples’ radar. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-seem-to-have-only-one-sure-candidate-in-2020/806496/17 "2018-01-16T17:20:45Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > he’s solidly, 100% corporate DLC establishment. Restoring voting rights to over 150,000 felons, _even though he had to sign an individual form for each one_, isn’t exactly what you’d expect of DLC establishment types. I was extremely critical of McAuliffe (I’d say “a faceless, soulless, unprincipled corporate hack with minimal ties to the state he was running in” [qualifies](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=16833915&postcount=100) as ‘extremely critical’ :)) when he was running for governor, but better him than Crazy Ken Cuccinelli by a mile. Let’s just say that McAuliffe was a far, far better governor than I expected. I wouldn’t mind in the least if he was the Dem nominee. But **adaher** , could you please get his last name right one of these years? Especially if you’re going to start threads about him. ---
**Author:** ![Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/do_not_taunt/32/2968_2.png) [@Do\_Not\_Taunt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Do_Not_Taunt)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-seem-to-have-only-one-sure-candidate-in-2020/806496/18 "2018-01-16T17:28:12Z")
> [@foolsguinea](#): > > “Liberals”? Excuse me, the word is “progressives.” I’m not even sure what this was in response to, but FWIW, I self-identify as ‘liberal’ but not as ‘progressive.’ ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-seem-to-have-only-one-sure-candidate-in-2020/806496/19 "2018-01-16T17:33:37Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Restoring voting rights to over 150,000 felons, _even though he had to sign an individual form for each one_, isn’t exactly what you’d expect of DLC establishment types. > > . I wouldn’t call that progressive, as one of the defining “principles” of the DLC was winning. If enfranchising ex-felons gets you more votes, then that’s what a DLC politician will do. If you need to run home to execute a mentally ill person to highlight you’re pro-death penalty, you’ll do that too. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [January 16, 2018, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-seem-to-have-only-one-sure-candidate-in-2020/806496/20 "2018-01-16T18:34:53Z")
So basically if a Dem politician does anything to improve their chances of winning, they’re just another DLC Dem. Got it. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/so-we-seem-to-have-only-one-sure-candidate-in-2020/806496.md?page=2)