OMG. I can’t believe this has to be pointed out, but: the idea that Pence’s behaviour re: women is ‘praiseworthy’ is asinine.
“I don’t dare be around these she-devils, that will seduce me with their femaleness. I don’t dare risk being alone with one, I need my wife or a chaperone to feel safe”.
He’s not taking responsibilty for his conduct. He’s doing the absolute opposite of that. It’s indirectly blaming women for being…you know, women.
Look at it this way: What do you think the general consensus would be if a woman running for political office said she would never meet with a man one-on-one?
As for who should run in 2020. Hell I dunno. Warren is running, which is a disappointment. I think she’s awesome, and she’d make a great president, but she’s already shown she can’t beat Trump. Trump will beat her like a rented mule.
I disagree with this assessment of his personal rules, but I have a feeling that we are starting from such different points of origin that any attempt at debating it will be pointless.
Pence’s behavior depends a lot on the context. Some spouses just don’t want their spouse to be alone with someone of the opposite sex(or same sex if it’s a same sex marriage). There’s also the issue of impropriety. In the #MeToo era, covering your ass by never being anywhere with a woman where there aren’t witnesses is perfectly understandable. Then there’s the standard accusations of adultery.
This thread hasn’t been bumped for 19 months, but we still haven’t agreed on a best ticket or who is likely to win. Joe Biden, accused rapist? He ain’t it.
Of course we should assume that Tara Reade and the entire GOP-FoxNews-Kremlin axis are lying; but we knew all along the re-election of Trump would be supported by the greatest onslaught of lies and propaganda in all of human history. I’m afraid the aging Biden can’t handle it.
At this point, I’d be rooting for Joe Biden to plead health emergency and pass the baton to a sturdy Number-Two. But we don’t have any Number-Two who’s even as likely to win against Trump as Old Joe the Gaffe-artist. :smack:
But …
… There is one man who could give up cards and spades and still beat Trump easily. The American hero Admiral Bill McRaven is back in the news lately, writing a February opinion piece for the Washington Post.
Texas Tribune, with my emphasis:
“McRaven suffers from non-life-threatening chronic lymphocytic leukemia.” Draft Admiral Bill and Win. Stick with Joe or some other second-stringer and lose. Take your pick.
If psychological health is included, McRaven’s health is almost certainly better than Trump’s, perhaps Biden’s as well. He’s only 64 years old.
Who would vote for him? Who would vote for him? Almost anybody reluctant to vote for Trump or Biden. He might not be rvery famous now, but neither were most of the Ds on the stage, starting out. I think a few ads will remind the American people real quick who he is. (IIRC, Trump even asked him to be National Security Advisor.)
Some Trump voters admire the military. Here are some of the Admiral’s decorations (in alphabetic order):
Afghanistan Campaign Medal
Bronze Star Medal with gold award star
Combat Action Ribbon
Defense Distinguished Service Medal w/ two bronze oak leaf clusters
Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Defense Superior Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal
Iraq Campaign Medal
Joint Service Commendation Medal
Kuwait Liberation Medal (Kuwait)
Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia)
Legion of Merit with one gold award star
Meritorious Service Medal with three gold award stars
National Defense Service Medal with bronze service star
National Intelligence Distinguished Public Service Medal
Naval Special Warfare insignia
Navy “E” Ribbon
Navy Expert Pistol Shot Medal
Navy Expert Rifleman Medal
Navy Sea Service Deployment Ribbon
Navy Unit Commendation with two bronze service stars
Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal
Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal
Navy and Marine Corps Overseas Service Ribbon
Navy and Marine Corps Parachutist Insignia
Presidential Service Badge
Southwest Asia Service Medal with three bronze service stars
United States Special Operations Command Badge
Trick question: Who played the title role in the film The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance?
Follow-on: Who was The Man Who Killed Osama bin-Laden?
Some Trump voters claim to admire the military. Remember what happened the last time we ran a highly-decorated veteran?
And “he’ll get voters who are reluctant to vote for Trump or Biden” is meaningless. You could construct an equivalent statement for literally every possible candidate.
That’s your emphasis. What the general public will read is “McRaven suffers from non-life-threatening chronic lymphocytic leukemia.”
A.) McRaven would have to be absolutely insane to run with leukemia. There is no more stressful job and stress is linked with bad results in CLL. He doesn’t strike me as suicidal, so that probably ends the thought experiment right there.
B.) It absolutely would play heavily against him if he were so foolish.
It’s not going to happen. Biden is the candidate, barring total disgrace or a health disaster. Ambitious politicians like that don’t step down voluntarily. Might as well just accept it.
Terri Sewell (D-Alabama) is moderate, an electoral plus validated by political science research. And as an African-American woman, she would help keep the Democratic coalition together.
Experience-wise, she’s been in the House long enough to be plausible, even though a relative unknown nationally.
Princeton, Harvard, Oxford. Those kind do win a lot.
Never-Trumpers will like her. Not a negative to me.