I like Ossoff. But I really want our next president to be either a Governor or a General/Admiral. Someone with experience managing the bureaucracy of it all. Not a senator and for gods sake not a C List game show host who is mediocre at best in the business world.
@unclemark ever been to Atlanta? It’s half black. You think it’s a coincidence he’s talking about lynchings?
wait, what? did he go The View on us?
Our next President needs to be a governor, from a state that isn't completely partisan. It can be a republican, it can be a democrat, the state can be a blue leaning or red leaning state, but needs clear shades of purple. People like Beshear, Shapiro, Moore, Whitmer... on the Dem side... and then Kemp, Youngkin, DeWine, Phil Scott... on the GOP side. The improvement in leadership at the top if any of the above end up as our next POTUS, would be astounding. Its a very low bar to clear what we've experienced since Obama, obviously. But the people above have all proven an ability to lead and govern, in states that have significant populations from the opposing party. And their experiences sifting through the Trump, Biden, Trump bullshit, to try to do what's best for their states, would serve them well as POTUS.
Unfortunately... we'll be looking at people like AOC, Harris, probably Newsome and Buttigieg... and then Vance and Rubio. All potentially better than Trump, but why... as voting blocks... are either side even considering taking the risk that these people will be worse candidates, and then worse Presidents, than the last few have been? Its astonishing, to me, that neither side will likely have learned from their very obvious mistakes.
Think about the difference in the overall comfort level, and mindset from a Beshear vs Kemp election... versus AOC v Vance. Obviously there will be people from both sides that push back on what I just wrote. Kemp is the guy that challenged some of you poster's Supreme Leader, after all. And Beshear certainly isn't woke enough for some of you other posters. But damn... it'd be like a warm blanket feeling for me....
I hope dems aren't dumb enough to run Harris again. I think Buttigieg would be a good choice other than he would lose votes due to some not wanting a gay president. Plus, it would piss off mcm/bar-down/sharon so that's a bonus lol
We should do presidential candidates like we do jury duty. Let the other side veto a few to clear out the bright blue or red options. I think all states moving to ranked voting would also help get us better candidates...or at least make 3rd party options more viable.
Candidates are chosen based on winning primaries and thus neither side cares about being more center. Would need a solution that would push both sides towards a more purple candidate.
@hurryinghoosiers Harris would be a disaster candidate. And the campaign would be a shit show. Buttigieg... I like him, he's very smart, but he's never really proven that he's capable of leading and governing. His record in South Bend is mixed, at best. And his time in Biden's cabinet, less than impressive. He's a guy that I think should stay at the forefront of Democratic politics, he'd probably be a very good Senator, or maybe a leader in the House, but I've not seen anything from him that says he's even remotely close to the best candidate the Dems could run out there.
We're in some very troubled times. I'll be surprised if 2028 isn't some form of crisis time, recession... bad environment. It'd be nice if both sides prop up someone that can actually navigate us through the troubled waters, well... rather than just excite the loudest parts of their bases.
@unclemark Huh? GOP side? Only reason I didn't list him is Utah is pretty deep, Red. But I think he'd probably do very well. He just doesn't really have to consider much of anything from the Dem side, being the Governor of Utah... to be effective and do his job. The others I listed do... which I think is an important distinction, for what we're facing, right now.
Your “ Democratic side” and “Republican side” framing is part of the problem. For the big issues facing us now, spending, energy, border, immigration, Middle East, the choices don’t line up with traditional Democrat and Republican politics. We need a crew of problem solvers, risk takers, executives, innovators, persuaders, and more. Asking, or expecting, any president to unify the country is asking too much. We definitely don’t need a future with a packed Supreme Court, two more states etc. We don’t need the cram-down politics that would result. If we have people who can solve problems, unity will probably take care of itself.
@co-hoosier I think many of the Governors I've listed have been pretty good at solving problems the federal government has created for them. In general, I agree with you, we definitely need problem solvers. But I'm not sure how a POTUS can actually do, or solve, much of anything without being able to unite Washington, at least a little bit. That's the ability I think is most necessary, right now. And that's what Governors like I listed have lived, probably every day of their Governorship. How can I find 5% of the opposing party, 10%, to help push this forward? Actual give and take. Actual leading towards the middle.
Leaders like Trump, Vance... AOC, Harris... by virtue of their style, their personalities, their beliefs, their histories, have virtually no chance of getting any support from the other side. I think Vance is actually a really smart dude. He had ideas before his VP role, that I think are very interesting. He's 8 million percent better than Trump. But he's never led or governed anything in his life, and he's shown zero willingness or ability to unite. So, if he wins in 28, he might have tons of good ideas... but he'll have basically zero chance of getting anything actually done. At which point, people like you will blame the Democrats, the Democrats will push further left against "him". And we'll spend another 4 years of more yelling, shit talking, fighting...
Its not about forsaking your party to try to unite everyone. Its genuinely being interested in opposing views, and having the experience and expertise to know how to get enough support from the other side, to actually do and accomplish things.
Your “ Democratic side” and “Republican side” framing is part of the problem. For the big issues facing us now, spending, energy, border, immigration, Middle East, the choices don’t line up with traditional Democrat and Republican politics. We need a crew of problem solvers, risk takers, executives, innovators, persuaders, and more. Asking, or expecting, any president to unify the country is asking too much. We definitely don’t need a future with a packed Supreme Court, two more states etc. We don’t need the cram-down politics that would result. If we have people who can solve problems, unity will probably take care of itself.
A packed supreme court? Because you already packed it. I see no issue with adding 2 seats to the supreme court to counteract what Bit** McConnell did.
And why shouldn't residents in DC and Puerto Rico have a say? Because it doesn't help conservatives. That is literally the only reason.
You're not going to get unity when your opinions are based only on what helps your party.
@iunorth lots of good posts and thoughts iunorth. politics and careers are a funny thing. i suspect jd is far and away the smartest of the lot on either side. i like him too. but he made a career decision to kind of sell his soul and get in league with trump. i don't necessarily blame him for doing so. so much in life is timing. i understand the process of transferring money etc but i think a number of dems missed their chance last go around stepping back. even with a truncated campaign they probably should have thought about going for it in light of how bad biden and harris were. i think you kind of see that with desantis too. very smart guy. but i think he missed his opportunity. that window closed. so again i don't blame vance for putting his cards in when he did. but now he has to live with some of that taint. trump has been really, really bad this term and it won't be that easy for vance to distance himself from same
@hurryinghoosiers stupid because don't you recognize the slippery slope of packing. you want to pack it to get your way. when the next group comes in they'll do the same. no idea how you function in life being this stupid.
@bar-down We're in a rough spot. Some version of what I laid out, is obviously the best thing for our country. But with the Dems likely taking over congress, and Trump being Trump, I can't envision any scenario playing out where the climate isn't just awful for the next 2 years. And we've seen how both parties react in those situations. Assuming Vance stays loyal to Trump, he'll likely be the GOP candidate. But who knows who the Dems will end up propping up... Any of the Governors I listed, versus Vance... and I think we'd be headed back in a much better direction. That would likely be a better election process, it'd be better for down ballot races, it'd promote better candidates across the board. AOC or Harris versus Vance... and we're getting further apart.