A candidate that the media wants to love...
Beto O'Rourke has finally deigned to let us know that he is running for the Democratic Party nomination for President, essentially saying that it is his destiny. After six years in Congress with few accomplishments of note, and a losing campaign against a man who has breached the bipartisan divide in the Senate as almost no one in either party likes Ted Cruz. Beto wants to smile his way to the White House. Does he want to visit every diner in America, a man of the people filming hotel lobbies across the country. He comes across here as just odd.
In 2007 when Barack Obama began what at first seemed like an improbable run for the Democratic nomination, much of the allure was his skill at public speaking. Whatever one's political persuasion, most could see that he was talented, capable of making seemingly impromptu remarks in complete sentences with extensive knowledge of issues and policy. In 2019 when Beto speaks, that is not the case. Maybe his good speeches or remarks must have been missed here, but what has been seen is a randomly strung together stream of consciousness rant, saying mostly good things in an incoherent way. Has he done the work?
As is now known by those who follow the political news, he grew up in a wealthy politically connected Texas family. He is an entitled rich boy who has nice locks and good teeth but that does not yet make him a Kennedy. He is also not a scruffy upstart starting from scratch. That he played in some sort of punk rock band does not make him a rebel and does not make him part of the cognoscenti. It's just his version of Bill Clinton playing the saxophone, the fat boy who couldn't play sports.
Obama may have been brilliantly calculating, but it was not that apparent in the beginning. He came across as idealistic but genuine. Beto's ploy seems almost grotesquely obvious. He is joining the increasingly large pack of Democrats who believe that anyone can grow up to be President. Note, not everyone can be President. We still await Biden's announcement, and Hillary will stand by her phone if this turns into complete chaos by early 2020. Bill de Blasio is still teasing us with his reticence, just waiting for Chirlane to tell him when the news cycle is right.
This has been a somewhat cynical ramble. If polls are remotely accurate, Trump should lose. Been there, done that haven't we. More to come...
In 2007 when Barack Obama began what at first seemed like an improbable run for the Democratic nomination, much of the allure was his skill at public speaking. Whatever one's political persuasion, most could see that he was talented, capable of making seemingly impromptu remarks in complete sentences with extensive knowledge of issues and policy. In 2019 when Beto speaks, that is not the case. Maybe his good speeches or remarks must have been missed here, but what has been seen is a randomly strung together stream of consciousness rant, saying mostly good things in an incoherent way. Has he done the work?
As is now known by those who follow the political news, he grew up in a wealthy politically connected Texas family. He is an entitled rich boy who has nice locks and good teeth but that does not yet make him a Kennedy. He is also not a scruffy upstart starting from scratch. That he played in some sort of punk rock band does not make him a rebel and does not make him part of the cognoscenti. It's just his version of Bill Clinton playing the saxophone, the fat boy who couldn't play sports.
Obama may have been brilliantly calculating, but it was not that apparent in the beginning. He came across as idealistic but genuine. Beto's ploy seems almost grotesquely obvious. He is joining the increasingly large pack of Democrats who believe that anyone can grow up to be President. Note, not everyone can be President. We still await Biden's announcement, and Hillary will stand by her phone if this turns into complete chaos by early 2020. Bill de Blasio is still teasing us with his reticence, just waiting for Chirlane to tell him when the news cycle is right.
This has been a somewhat cynical ramble. If polls are remotely accurate, Trump should lose. Been there, done that haven't we. More to come...
posted by John Borden at 6:54 PM
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