Tamara watched the first forty-five minutes or so of the Democratic debate. I listened from the next room. Even from there, it was obvious that Michael Bloomberg was coming in for a well-deserved drubbing. For a pool of candidates who are already anticipating -- and occasionally, actively -- campaigning against an outspoken, big-money New Yorker who they believe to be racist and high-handed, the former Mayor was easy meat: his major differences to our current President amount to little more than hairstyle, hand size and a far more massaged social media presence.
That doesn't mean he hasn't got a chance, but if there was one thing all the other candidates on the stage last night agreed on, it was that they disapproved of Mr. Bloomberg. Made me feel all warm inside for nearly thirty seconds, it did, since it was the single notion that I knew we had in common. For that matter, it's probably the only thing that they've all got in common with Wayne LaPierre.
There was only one non-millionaire (at a minimum) on last night's stage (and Peter Paul Montgomery Buttigieg has years in which to catch up). When even your fellow top-of-the-heap dwellers loathe you, that should be a message.
Sometimes common ground is an awfully small patch of dirt. Sometimes it's the size of Manhattan.
BUILDING A 1:1 BALUN
4 years ago
2 comments:
I wonder if Bloomberg knew that he was going to take a shellacking and just steeled himself to it, and took it. From what I saw of the debate, probably about the same as Tam, it appeared that he was not trying to score any kill shots of his own, but merely trying to tread water. Probably a good strategy, knowing that he had it coming. Let the bombs fall, and take it now, and put it behind him, hopefully.
If it boils down to the Democrats running Bernie Sanders, or Bloomberg, I suspect that the old guard will prefer Bloomberg, while the younger voters want Bernie.
Last time, the question was whether or not America was ready for a female president. This time around, it might be if we are ready for a gay president. Both times, I think the answer has to be, yes, of course, just not this one.
I think that Pete Buttigieg is a decent man, who really believes in what he is doing. And he is the kind of guy that I would enjoy being friends with. I just have a problem with the strong left leaning agenda of most of the Democrats candidates. They are not the classic liberal that I could support as a young person, but as we all know, they have gone so far to the left that they are flirting with socialism, which, unlike what they would tell you, is not a good thing. They give it a different name, calling it Democratic Socialism, but as the saying goes, a rose by any other name still smells as sweet, to badly paraphrase that bit of wisdom.
Comparing Trump and Bloomberg is not a true comparison, even they are both billionaires. Because Donald Trump the candidate, while running the first time, played the media like a cheap fiddle. And by being so outrageous,he was able to get the news media to follow him around like a 17 year old boy following the first girl who let him kiss her. And when they put reports of his latest unintended gaff on every single night, he got more free publicity than Bloomberg will dream of getting. Donald Trump does have one thing going for him. He understands just how to get things done, and how to motivate people to do what he wants them to, no matter how he has to anger someone else.
One thing I have to sometimes force myself to remember, is that very few people are either all good, or all bad. Michael Bloomberg is well liked by many, and was effective as a mayor, whether we like him as gun owners or not, and whether he was a racist or not. Just like Donald Trump, while we know that he has many character flaws, he also has a huge heart for the needy, and often goes out of the way to help people in need or who have suffered for no reason, be they military members, or victims of natural disasters, without seeking publicity or thanks.
One thing is certain, this presidential election cycle will be one of the more interesting that I have lived through in what will be my 60 years of living.
I suspect they would all be fine with Bloomberg IF he wasn't running against them and being touted in some quarters as the only one one with a chance against Trump.
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