Some will tout our bounty of great candidates going into 2020. I remain ever skeptical, though I will acknowledge that there sure are a lot of candidates. I tend to believe that number will very quickly reduce to three real viable candidates going into Iowa. In trying to determine, which three I stumbled across Beto O’Rourke’s rather disappointing pitch for my support.
betoorourke.com
On it loads a picture of Beto and a boy in a NASA cap, who I assume is his son, with the words ‘BETO FOR AMERICA’ popping up on the left. It is a very polished presentation, but it then drops you off at donation page. That’s it.
So I guess his message is that he is for America, which seems better than being against America (though I might be more intrigued by a candidate with the boldness to go the other direction). He has had some time to think about his campaign launch, but apparently he doesn’t want looky loo’s like myself pinning him down on much more than a general affinity for the nation of which he intends to lead.
I honestly believe we will be down to Bernie, Kamala and Biden by February of 2020. Despite the general belief, I think Biden will drift into the backdrop against the two more charismatic candidates the way he did in 2008. From there I think it will come down to how well Kamala can define herself as the broader reaching candidate, because if she competes for the left with Bernie, she will have little room to grow.
Beto was always the wildcard in my thinking, and his announcement haul seemed to make me question whether he might hold in as the eventual third candidate. Still, with the bold position of being For America, I think he may be too radical for the electorate this time around.
I know it is early, but inertia wanes more often than not. You really have a short window to define yourself, and then it is a fight to get the cameras back. Candidates better have an issue or two, with which the voters associate them.