After watching the Democratic debate I tried to visualize each of the candidates going head to head with the insult-hurling Donald Trump. I thought that Bernie could do so but as a candidate Trump would use his socialism as his main attack line. If you thought Benghazi was bad, or “lock her up” damaged Hillary, considering that both were patently absurd reasons not to vote for someone, Trump would make socialism into a a meme equivalent to saying anyone espousing beliefs that could be called socialism also wants your mother and daughter to be raped by marauding illegal immigrants. He would “Central Park Five” the word.
.
All this leads me to wonder about whether "Little Mike" whose net worth is 60 times that of Trump's, what with his sonorous voice and exuding self-confidence which he wears with the ease that he strolls through a diner in a $1000 suit is the one to take him on.
.
We can’t ignore the optics. After all this is a huge part of what Trump, even with his unfashionably long red tie highlighting his ample belly, got elected. Optics, bigotry, showmanship, and a heaping helping of populist bullshit paved the way to the Oval Office.
.
The other rich Democratic candidates generally eschew wearing suits and ties. Yang goes open collar even during the debates. Steyer's brand is open collar. Still, Bloomberg looks good in casual dress, although his "brand" is the self-made New York billionaire who has no need to pretend to be anyone else.
What with millions of dollars to promote himself there is little doubt the airwaves will be flooded with this video, much to the chagrin of Obama’s Vice President.
On MSNBC in my living room today:
There is so much focus on the policy proposals of Democratic candidates, for example and bashing Bloomberg for having the chutzpah to try to buy his way into being a contender that we are in danger of losing sight of which candidate will likely be be able to eviscerate Trump on the debate stage and in ads, rallies, and town halls.
.
Those who see Trump for the soul-sucking monster he is will vote fo anyone with a D after their name. But there are still voters who are gullible enough to think he is one of them despite the fact that he is a grifter and con. If Bloomberg can convince enough of them that he is “the real deal” who is more one of them than Trump is or ever was he might be able to capture the needed votes to win in those rust belt states that gave Trump his electoral college victory.
Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is viewed as the Democrat most likely to defeat President Trump if nominated, according to a newly released betting market analysis.
However, the analysis from researchers at Standard Chartered Bank, first reported by CNBC, also found that Bloomberg is viewed as having a 10 percent chance of winning the Democratic nomination.
"Our interpretation of online market pricing is that Bloomberg is viewed as having the highest chance among Democrats of beating Trump if nominated. But his nomination probabilities are currently running just over 10 percent," the study states.
The research shows that among the top-polling candidates, Bloomberg and former Vice President Joe Biden are the two candidates viewed as having the highest chances of winning given perceptions about how friendly they would be for asset markets.
"Among investors, Bloomberg and Biden are probably viewed as the most asset-market friendly among the Democratic candidates, so their greater implied electability may be why US assets are not showing more stress," the researchers wrote.
Americans may not be betting on Michael Bloomberg yet, but betting markets still think he's got a chance.
The former New York City mayor has totally leapfrogged former Vice President Joe Biden in an average of betting markets, RealClearPolitics' average shows. Bloomberg has a 19 percent chance of winning, per ElectionBettingOdds.com, while PredictIt's betting market gives Bloomberg a 23-cent "yes" price to Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) 43 cents.
Bloomberg's rise coincides with a major drop in Biden's betting chances, likely stemming from the former vice president's dismal performance in Monday's Iowa caucuses.
Bloomberg published this yesterday and tweeted it today: