Bloomberg v. Buttigieg
I am, needless to say, watching the field of Democratic contenders to the 2020 election nomination with great interest. In fact, I am watching it with a level of interest I have never once before experienced in my life. I’ve been an adult of voting age for twelve prior presidential elections, starting in 1972 and I can honestly say that I’ve watched more candidate maneuvering for the 2020 election than I have collectively over the past twelve times I’ve been through this…and that’s with eleven months yet to go in this race. Over 2019 I have watched my interest in Biden, Warren, Sanders, Harris, Booker, Buttigieg, Castro, Yang, Klobuchar, Steyer, Bennett, Bullock, DeBlasio, Hickenlooper, Gillibrand, O’Rourke and Swalwell all ebb and flow. I started out feeling strongly about what O’Rourke represented in my belief that we needed something new and fresh. That faded soon after his Vanity Fair cover declared that this is what he was destined for. Big mistake, like getting on the cover of Sports Illustrated before the Heisman decision (right Ed Marinaro?) I never thought Bernie was young enough or electable enough even though I admire his vision and passion. His wild-eyed rants are great, but not for the Oval Office.
There are always a host of wanna-be’s who aspire to broaden their brand and perhaps position themselves for future calls to service by declaring their candidacy. I imagine some of them dream they could come from nowhere to win as does occasionally happen. But I never felt Bennett, DeBlasio Castro, Gillibrand, Yang, Swalwell, Williams, Hickenlooper or Gabbard had a chance. Bennett was too wooden, though when I stopped to listen he was quite sensible. DeBlasio is our hometown mayor and I should like his political leaning (I’ve even met him), but he has simply been way too flaky and absent as a mayor, choosing to look forward rather than to the tasks at hand. Castro was three degrees off top dead center with his screwy eyebrows. He has a Hispanic tokenism aspect to him. Gillibrand is my senator and I just don’t think she’s done anything except try to parlay her blondness into higher office. Yang had a thick neck and interesting ideas, but was too fiscally unconventional (the world isn’t ready for a good idea like Universal Income). Even if Swalwell didn’t fart on camera, his chin cleft made him seem like a video bomber. Williams was a fruitcake. Who the hell was Hickenlooper anyway? He came and went in a heartbeat. Gabbard scared me and scares me still.
Then there were others I wanted to hear more from. Harris was strident and looked like a good prosecutor, but I couldn’t handle her slipping occasionally into ghetto-speak for effect. Black women are a big factor, but that alone cannot carry her into a nomination. Speaking of black, there is Cory Booker. I like Cory even though his eyeball intensity is tough to take for five minutes, much less four to eight years. I want Cory to have an important part in the next administration, just not the top job. I gave money to Bullock to get him on the debate stage, mostly because my pal Dale Launer and my movie pal Jeff Bridges both liked him. He seems likable, but his “I’m the only one who beat Trump in a red state” doesn’t carry very far. I also gave money to Tom Steyer to get him on stage, less to hear what he had to say and more to thank him for all the hard work he has done for a few years on the environment and to remind us that trump needed to be impeached. In the debate he was less impressive.
Amy Klobuchar appealed in theory because of her Minnesota roots. My friend Gary, who is very thoughtful on things politic has been a big fan, so I paid a lot of attention to her. Over time, her Midwest earnestness gets to be a bit of a drone and I suspect she’s destined for Secretary of Education or some such thing. God knows we need someone to fix what Betsy DeVoss has shredded. That leaves us Biden, Warren, Buttigieg and…wait for it, wait for it…Bloomberg.
Biden is a nice guy. I loved seeing his interactions with Obama, but I was always glad Obama was there to make the real decisions. Joe is a nice enough guy and I believe his heart is in the right place. Any admonition about past legislative leanings can and should be largely ignored because the passage of time really does alter perceptions and who among us does not live and learn a bit at the edges. Nothing about Joe offends me except his age and his slowness. The job of President is simply too demanding to allow someone who is too old or too slow-witted to sit in the chair. I know people will remind me of Eisenhower, Reagan and even Bush elder. Yes, getting a good team can shore up those deficiencies, but I still believe the leader of the free world needs more on the ball than Joe appears to have available. I cannot imagine voting for Joe unless I have no other choice for defeating Trump. I would vote for a block of wood over Trump because a block of wood would do not harm and Trump does harm every day.
Elizabeth Warren was someone who I cringed at when I was a banker. Her consumer protection tendencies are theoretically fine and upstanding, but she goes too far. She is extreme. I began to like her more as she built momentum in the race and I absolutely would like to see a woman president. I think we need, more than anything, to raise voter participation and a woman might well help that a great deal. Warren is very smart and may be the best policy wonk we have ever seen in an election. Her ability to command complex facts and concepts is impressive. I believe she is more an extreme capitalist than socialist in the formal sense of the word, but most people cannot draw that distinction and she certainly can be mistaken for a raving socialist. I like her billionaire wealth tax idea and I even like the way she explains it, but I do not like her rubbing her hands together at the thought of invading a given billionaire’s wallet. that seems crass and evokes the worst of socialist scares.
So, we are down to Buttigieg and Bloomberg. If we could put the two in a blender and end up with Buttiberg or Bloomgieg I would be thrilled. I’m a VERY big fan of what Bloomberg did in New York City over twelve years as mayor. I’m impressed by how he has built his business over time. I’ve been in his townhouse and met him several times. I even have a cover art caricature drawing with him from 2012 that would give me great feelings over his presidency. But he is 77 years old and he is a difficult person to gain acceptance across the great divides of this country. A Jewish president would be great to me, but I shiver at the reaction in deep red states.
Buttigieg is openly gay and I am pleased to say that I don’t think that is a barrier to his electability. It surely helps that he fought bravely in the Mideast. I like his soft-spoken manner and feel his civility and humanity are something this country needs badly after the Trump era. Any past failings are forgivable and minor and any inexperience can be overlooked because he isn’t a narcissist and he will get lots and lots of good help, even from others on the candidate roster itself.
What I really want is for Bloomberg to throw the weight of his wisdom and experience (not to mention his astronomical wallet) behind Buttigieg. I do not mean a donation. I mean agree in advance that the two are a ticket that will combine the best of wisdom and guidance of them both with the final say being owned by Buttigieg (I will always vote for youth to decide the future). If only egos and the system could be manipulated to this wonderful end.