COVID-19: Trump's Waterloo?

Could the COVID-19 coronavirus epidemic prove to be the adversary that brings on Trump's defeat in the 2020 November election?

Yes, it could.

Up until about a week or two ago, it looked like President Trump might be cruising to a 2020 reelection victory.  It's still early, for sure, but it's becoming clearer every day that the political, economic, and social chaos brought on by the 'Wuhan Virus' could well prove to be the foe that Trump is simply unable to defeat.

One of the remarkable aspects of Trump's initial 2016 campaign and subsequent presidency has been his uncanny ability to ultimately vanquish any and all opponents.  Republicans, Democrats, prosecutors, media, foreign leaders/countries:  you name it, and Trump has triumphed over them over the last 3 years.

As if to continue that crazy winning streak in the final stretch to the fall election, the Democratic primaries has unbelievably ended up with Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, two very old white men, as the remaining candidates for the nomination.  Can you think of anything that is more the antithesis of the modern Democratic Party?  TWO OLD WHITE MEN?  Really?

But the advent of COVID-19--the ultimate 'black swan' event--and the accompanying economic and political turmoil appears to have changed everything, and it would seem to be the conclusive test of our unusual, erratic, and unpredictable leader. 

If Trump can somehow withstand this furious assault and still be reelected, then his 'reign' will begin to take on a legendary, if not mythological, character.  If not, his enemies--and they are many--will be very happy to send him into an ignominious exile, like Emperor Napoleon of old.

Being a pessimist by nature, I tend to think he won't succeed and will be defeated.  But I have been wrong before in this matter.  Trump's pattern until now has been to (mostly) surprise and amaze his supporters, while at the same time throwing his political detractors and opponents into paroxysms of anguish and despair.  So we shall see.

Hillary Clinton As Joe Biden's VP

The more I think about it, the more obvious it becomes.  Joe Biden (or whoever his handlers are) will pick Hillary Clinton to be his Vice-President, and she will gladly accept the nomination.  It makes perfect sense.

Is there anyone who is a better embodiment of the Establishment than HRC?  Of course not.

Uncle Joe (or better yet, Grandpa Joe) is going to need someone who everyone knows still has their wits about them.  And not only their wits, but their policy chops.  Neither of which Joe Biden has in abundance right now.

Furthermore, Hillary is clearly seeking revenge for her drubbing at the hands of the Bad Orange Man four years ago.  What a perfect way to possibly achieve that item on her bucket list!

And given what we're seeing in the ongoing mental deterioration of Joe Biden, it is entirely reasonable to expect that Hillary could find herself as President in the not too distance future, given what her position would be in the Presidential line of succession.  For that matter, once Joe is elected President and has a chance to fulfill his lifelong ambition, I don't think he really cares how long he serves after the first couple of years.  Really.  He's not all that crazy about actually BEING President, which is mind-numbingly hard and exhausting job.  I'd give him two years, max.  25th Amendment, you know.

Meanwhile, Kamala, Amy, Elizabeth, and hell, even Tulsi, can be installed in the cabinet:  Kamala as Attorney General, Amy as Secretary of HHS, Elizabeth as Treasury Secretary, and Tulsi as, let's see, how about Department of Homeland Security!

And of course, Mayor Pete can cut his teeth nationally as the new Secretary for Gender and Race!  Or more realistically, the Secretary of Education.

Perfect solution, making everyone happy!

P.s.  Can you even imagine a Hillary Clinton/Mike Pence VP debate?!  That should be a real humdinger!

Joe Biden: What Super Tuesday Hath Wrought

Okay, it's time to get back on the blog!  Super Tuesday (March 3rd) was a major shock to the national system, which is what I want to talk about here and now.  Let me begin with the conclusions I've come to as a result of the Super Tuesday political sea change.

CONCLUSION #1:  Barring a major personal/mental breakdown, Joe Biden is now the almost certain Democratic nominee.  And the Democratic Party and the Democratic media are now ALL IN on Biden.  They will do everything in their power to carry him over the finish line in November.

CONCLUSION #2:  The die is cast, and the only question is who the VP will be.  It almost certainly will be a woman, for obvious reasons.  Will it be Amy or Elizabeth, who both just existed the race?  What about Kamala?  How about Hillary or Michelle?  Honestly, if I had to put money on it, I'd bet on Hillary, as crazy as that sounds.  A perfect rematch.

CONCLUSION #3:  Joe Biden is an AMAZINGLY bad nominee, and I can hardly exaggerate this point.  In every way.  Getting him across the finish line in November will require a herculean effort.  I have absolutely no idea what the chances of it are.

CONCLUSION #4:  The Bloomberg Experience now proves this:  You cannot buy an election, no matter how much money you use, if you don't have a good message or a viable candidate.  Both Donald Trump and Joe Biden of course are both going to have plenty of money to spend. 

CONCLUSION #5:  Bernie Sanders is almost certainly not going to get the Democratic nomination, that is for sure.  The Democratic establishment has coalesced around Joe Biden, thereby preventing Bernie from getting too close.  However, he's a true believer in what he's doing, and also hardly a Democrat at all.  So he's not going to pull out or suspend before the convention.  Therefore, the effect of this on the Biden campaign is difficult to gauge at this point.  Many 'Bernie Bros' are not at all happy about this, and they could prove to be a formidable destructive force against the Democrats.

CONCLUSION #6:  The tsunami of anti-Biden oppo research about to be released into the body politic over the next 8 months of this election is going to be stunning, I think!  The MSM will try to ignore it, of course, but that may be impossible to do in the end.  Get ready.