Today the New York Times has a feature in which one of their columnists makes their best argument for one of the six leading Democratic presidential contenders. The candidates, arguments and columnists are:
- Elizabeth Warren (Michelle Goldberg): She wants to purify capitalism so it works as it should
- Michael Bloomberg (David Brooks): He’s a practical manager who can get things done
- Bernie Sanders (Jamelle Bouie): Despite his age, he promises a true break with the past
- Pete Buttigieg (Frank Bruni): He could heal a fragmented nation
- Joe Biden (Ross Douthat): The promise of victory, and then the promise of (relative) calm
- Amy Klobuchar (David Leonhardt): She can win over the voters that Democrats need
I could provide refutations for each of them but I’ll leave that to the reader. Rather than that I’ll ask the reader a question. Which of these candidates by virtue of temperament, predisposition, and background could reunite the Democratic Party and the country? If you don’t think those are important, I don’t think you understand the problem.
Here you go, Steve, I’m teeing it up for you:
Warren seems to act as if fascism or syndicalism is the wave of the future. She’s lying, of course.
Bloomberg: Hint: The President isn’t a manager, he hires them. And please keep your hypocrisies to yourself.
Sanders: Yeah, communism would really be a break with the past. What’s an acceptable body count, Bernie? Or does that matter no more than the cost of your proposals?
Buttigieg: I’m a veteran, I’m gay, I know how to correctly interpret Scripture, and I do a really good Obama imitation down to the hand gestures, facial expressions, and mealy-mouthed platitudes. And don’t you dare criticize me or you’ll be considered a bigot.
Biden: I don’t think we really want or need a repeat of President Paul Hindenburg in this country.
Klobuchar: I’m just as radical as Bernie, only I’ll impose his policies in a much nicer way.
Bloomberg is by far the best of the lot, having actually built and run something and not turning NYC into a s**thole during his regime (DiBlasio is certainly making up for it). But trying to impose personal preferences and tics on the general populace is neither a good thing nor popular.