All That Matters

Shooting ourselves in the foot is the election year game Democrats are best at. We have an opportunity to do good, to correct the excesses and repair the mistakes of the previous administration and what do we do? Shoot ourselves in the foot -- sabotage all our possibilities -- give the election away to the Republicans and spend the next cycle complaining about the guy in office and blaming each other for it. We're so afraid of getting things right.

Take the 2028 presidential election, for example. I know, that's future tense. But, waiting until 2027 is too late to think about these things. Trust me, Donald Trump has been thinking about them at least that long. So let's start thinking about how we can help him. Huh? You read me right: help him. Because if we do what we typically do, that's exactly what we're going to end up doing.

The last time we did the atypical thing was 2008 when we elected Barack Obama. Things were close then, but he was the kind of candidate who survived the best of our foot-shooting efforts and showed us what leadership looks like. This cycle, things aren't so clear. 

The slate of potential candidates, so far as I see them right now, include four governors (J.B. Pritzker, Tim Walz, Gavin Newsom, Andy Beshear),  four congresspersons (Robert Garcia, Jamie Raskin, Joaquin Castro, Pete Aguilar) eight senators (Raphael Warnock, Mark Kelly, Chris Murphy, Ruben Gallego, John W. Hickenlooper, Cory Booker, Andy Kim, Elissa Slotkin), and one former cabinet member (Pete Buttigieg). Agree or not with the names, my point is, here are seventeen persons who could, conceivably, have to crowd onto a debate stage and letting that take place is how we blow the election. 

Instead of the candidates, aided by party wise persons, working out the three or four most likely to win and letting them duke it out, we open the door to everyone and end up looking like fools in the process. Not all the names I've mentioned have the same chance. Not all of them should get microphone time. 2028 isn't about Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. It's about saving America from becoming the Western version of Putin's playground. We can sort out who gets to become the first ________ (whatever) later. Right now, we need character, selflessness, maturity, wisdom, and the capacity to serve rather than be served. And to achieve that we have to stop aiming at our feet and aim instead at getting the White House back.

And that's all that matters.