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I'm surprised this post isn't busier?
Anyway, I know you said imagine a generic candidate, but it's hard to unsee who's out there. I hope you don't mind if I go off right quick lol:
-WHO is telling Biden this teasing bullshit is cute?? Both he and Beto seem to like this tactic and it comes off mad entitled. Smug. Off-putting. And just gives the media more time to remind everyone why they're ill-suited. If I had their ear I'd tell them to cut the boyish crap and get to work.
-Speaking of Beto, I would have encouraged him to run for senate again, not pres.
-Of the candidates so far, all have a reasonable degree of executive presence except for Warren, Sanders, and Beto. They need some coaching about how to come across more presidential, imho. I think this would be most transformational for Warren. People like her and she's got great policy ideas... but she comes across super cutesy-grandma and if I had her ear I would question whether her hokeyness tempers her ability to be taken seriously by the more hardass voters or even other leaders both domestic and abroad. It shouldn't matter but it does. I would be keen to strengthen her image a bit, to portray her as more of a stateswoman and to match how tough her platform is.
-Julian Castro needs to be out there more, where IS he?? There's really no excuse. Yang and Buttigieg have been doing almost every major weekend news show, podcast, etc so don't tell me it's lack of funding (Pete's still exploratory), or family obligations (Andrew Yang has 2 young children), lack of name recognition (he served in Obama's cabinet AND was a contender in HRC's highly publicized VP selection process), etc. Something's lacking in his team. Even the simple fact he's one of few that got it right when asked about reparations should have garnered him way more publicity than it did. So I guess if I had his ear I'd be pushing to ramp up his PR and bookings.
-Klobuchar - She's a viable candidate for those that shy away from more progressive proposals. I wish Biden would sit the race out and just let her own the lane. Her rep as an abusive boss is worrisome though and could pose a political risk in the long run.. So if I had her ear I would have tried to get ahead on the oppo front (her team was definitely on the defensive as reports about it increased) and have her do more interviews/pre-emptive PR showing her composed and down-to-earth, which she does tend to portray in interviews/town halls.
-Delaney - He's hilarious because he's quite literally just your typical garden variety white male senior level politician, lol.. I don't think there would really be anything to add or take away from what his campaign is doing because whatever they are doing is what politicians like him have been doing since forever so as CM I would probably just be going through the motions.
-Tulsi - I would be pushing her to broaden her platform. I literally can't think of any other major policy prescription she's made aside from US force reductions overseas. Ok... what else would she be doing with her time? She also doubles down a bit too much on the "As a soldier" thing sometimes... lol. During her town hall I think she must have said it at least 10-20 times. She kind of reminds of like if Jason Bourne was running for office.. I kept expecting her to short circuit at some point.
-Kamala. How do we solve a problem like Kamala?? (c).. I think with her it's less of a "she should be doing this!" "She should be doing that!" thing and more of a.. "how did they manage to botch her being top contender??" There was so much hype. She's super popular. Executive presence down pat. She's open to progressive reforms (though she's been hard to pin on actual details). But more and more it just seems that people are more excited/impressed by other candidates. So it may have been too early for a run from her... I'm not sure what the rush was. The dems need strong representation in the senate too. I really don't know what could help her at this point, so I guess as her campaign manager I'd resign myself to the lukewarm cinnamon oatmeal of a campaign that we'd put together with all that money we raised.
-Booker: see Kamala.
-Marianne Williamson - The only one running almost exclusively on a reparations platform. She wants to spiritually cleanse the US, right? I don't really know how to read her tbh. She gives me Jill Stein vibes. But if she's affiliated with Oprah she must be somewhat legit.. right?? I don't know. But if I had her ear I guess I would tell her she needs to broaden her platform. She can't just run on the one issue for the one constitutency and expect to be a serious candidate (though I realize that's what Trump did and won.. but I think in his case it only worked bc his base and the anti-Clinton base were a much larger proportion of the electorate).
-I would also say something similar to Andrew Yang re: UBI. He's doing a phenomenal job securing UBI into the Dem's agenda and is bringing a lot of people around to the idea - and with cold hard facts, history, and economic theory to back it up too. I also think he - more than any other candidate - has run the most aggressive thought leadership so far. Most striking is his ability to appeal to both progressives and republicans. His ability to navigate "the horseshoe" is rivaled only by perhaps Bernie. For example he's done like 3 or 4 fox interviews so far, including one interview with Tucker Carlson who by the end was eating out of his hand which was interesting to watch.. and the COMMENTS under the video were largely supportive too, which is not what one would expect in response to a progressive dem selling the idea of introducing a new VAT to pay for an entitlement program on a conservative news program. So that's an impressive quality he has. He also raises money well, he's data-driven, he's tapped into the whole silicon valley circuit which could prove useful. He comes across a little bit tech bro-y but overall his executive presence isn't bad. Smart views on many issues, but none as fleshed out as his UBI proposal. So ya if I had his ear I'd tell him to keep doing what he's doing but to broaden his platform, because when you have more well-rounded candidates like Pete Buttigieg as it stands now Yang is making a great case to modernize the SSA or DOL but not necessarily to lead the US.
-Pete Buttigieg and Andrew Yang both have really positive buzz surrounding them but it's weird because even though they seem to be the names people keep positively mentioning in comment sections, twitter, etc.... meaning everyone's like "Oh he's great", "he has my vote", "he's in my top 2", "he's my favorite", "I'm donating", they all turn around and add "but I doubt he winds up the nominee"...lol. Which is weird because with so many people singing their accolades, if people like them and they simply voted for them as they say they want to then one of them very likely COULD end up the nominee. Pete truly does have that special political star quality, a very empathetic style of speech and leadership.. super measured, thoughtful, and well-rounded. He's strong on both domestic and foreign policy, plus as a veteran and a member of a marginalized group he can just relate to so many issues. And has there ever been a multilingual president?? (Arabic, Dari, Spanish, Norwegian, Maltese). I mean on paper and in person Pete would probably be the dream candidate to manage because you could really go far with him. The only thing I notice is, as one of the subset of candidates that's centered his platform around climate (or climate security, as he frames it), he needs to get an energy policy team together FAST. I never thought I'd be able to pinpoint a weakness in his responses, but after seeing him stumble in 2 small town halls after being asked about nuclear, energy is it. He's usually able to pull together specifics quite easily, but playing it off with the "well, I'm not fully informed on the science yet" doesn't serve him well if renewables and a low carbon footprint are central to his prescriptions for sustainability and pollution reduction. Plus he often misses the opportunity to dig more into an infrastructure plan that prioritizes resilience against natural disasters/extreme climate fluctuations. But ya, he's damn near beating the odds in every other respect and his team is killing it with his bookings.
-Inslee - like a climate-flavored Delaney. Again, if I had his ear I'd be pushing him to get his energy policy and infrastructure plan together asap, just like I'd tell Pete. If you are talking climate you need to have that shit down pat otherwise it all just sounds like lefty bs.
-And the one thing I would tell any and all the candidates to do if I was their CM is USE THEIR BRAINS WHEN IT COMES TO REPARATIONS. Jesus. I mean it's not even complicated... I really don't understand how so many have fumbled on this. THERE'S ALREADY A BILL. At a minimum, why not just say you would support HR40 and sign it if it passed? Encourage high participation in the Census so that estimates resulting from Congress's studies capture as true a picture of Black Americans as possible? Extra respect if you acknowledge the historical injustices inflicted on Black Americans and their ancestors and acknowledge the persistent racism and inequities that have compounded and remain present even in today's society. Somehow Kamala, Warren, and Sanders have all managed to screw this up lol. It may not be too late for Buttigieg (who surprised me by explaining the evolution of 'whiteness' to one of his audiences recently, so we know he's at least a tiny bit woke). But ya. It's all but guaranteed that a reparations question would come up in the debates so they need to figure out their positions.
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