Thoughts on the 2024 Presidential Election

On this President's Day there's no relief from politics: more Democratic would-be Presidents announce they're running, 16 states sue the President---this time over "the Wall" emergency funding, the 25th Amendment has been revived as a means of defenestrating Donald Trump, etc.

I can't get excited over the 2020 election. The fact that septuagenarians Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and Bernie Sanders all are thinking about running betrays the weakness of the field (DJT is 72, but wouldn't you want a young and vigorous opponent to highlight his age?---think Barack vs. John McCain).

You can hype it all you want, but it looks like the Patriots, I mean Donald Trump, will win again.

But 2024 is looking interesting.

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It's been decades since a California Governor was a serious candidate for President, but Gavin Newsom, 51, just may be the ticket. Tall (6'3") and telegenic, Governor Newsom has Progressive credentials. As SF Mayor, he issued marriage certificates to gay couples in 2003 long before it was legal and reinforced SF's "sanctuary city" self-designation. But there are signs that he may be moving toward the center---quietly agreeing with the President about forest-management practices and killing high-speed rail. He's focusing on enforcing existing gun laws instead of passing stricter legislation, and climate change was mentioned only in passing in the State of the State speech.

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Nikki Haley, 47, recently resigned--apparently on good terms with the President---her 2-year post as the U.N Ambassador and is considered to be one of the Republican front-runners for 2024. She was the first female governor of South Carolina and the second Indian-American (after Bobby Jindal of Louisiana) to hold a governorship. Known for her conservative positions (pro-life, pro-Israel, anti-tax), she can retreat when circumstances demand, such as when the 2015 Charleston church shooting made her take down the Confederate flag at the State Capitol. Being a woman and a non-white child of immigrants may win enough votes to put her over the top.

By the way, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will turn 35 the month before the November, 2024 election, and people have noticed.