- Michelle Obama running n 2020 is the the great hope of many white liberals
- But would her running make any difference as to the outcome?
David Catron is a respected and well-informed writer for The Spectator, a “conservative” publication.
We are neither.
He has a different opinion regarding Michelle Obama running in 2020 — that she won’t (and why).
Nevertheless it has been our contention since the first 20 or so Democrats announced their aspiration to be the 46th president of the United States, that the Democratic Party would eventually come to the conclusion that none of them could inspire a majority of the electorate to vote for any one of them instead of Donald Trump, whether an electoral college still existed or not,
Thus, we have long opined that, at some point prior to the Democrat National convention next summer, the folks who run the Democratic Party, that would be the Mainstream Media, rich Hollywood nutcases, assorted socialists, communists, and anarchists, the faculties of most colleges in America, and certain unions (like the teachers’ and federal employees’), would realize that fact, and in terror and total arrogance, turn to their one true hero, er, heroine.
In their minds(?) who but ‘best selling’ authoress, the entire nation’s darling, Oprah’s pick, the person who hates America and its traditions, values, history, and philosophical underpinnings even more than they do or even “Barack the Great”, has already won the hearts of Americans, and would easily beat President Trump??
And, despite Mr. Catron’s and the views of many other Republicans and conservatives, it is our humble opinion that those folks would make their plaintive appeal to “Her Highness” and her vast ego would not permit her to reject her admirer’s fervent need and would consent to be America’s ruler!
Michele will graciously accept the Democratic nomination!
And, for only the second time in her adult life, Mrs. (Robinson) Obama would be proud of America! DLH
Below is Catron’s article followed by three that indicate her support is substantial and maybe compelling.
Why Michelle Obama Won’t Run in 2020
Trump would beat her badly.
The Democrats are clearly losing confidence that their declared presidential candidates can beat President Trump in 2020. They tout polls showing that any of their top four candidates would win the general election were it held now, but only the most naïve take such hypothetical matchups seriously. Moreover, they can see that their leading candidate is so fuddled that he frequently forgets his talking points and even where he is on a given day, while his competitors are so far left of the mainstream that Trump would trounce them. This is why so many on the left have turned their desperate eyes to Michelle Obama.
Over the weekend, Steve Lopez wrote a column in the Los Angeles Times titled, “Michelle Obama for president. The only one who can beat Trump?” Lopez suggests that many Democratic voters whose support for people like Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders is decidedly tepid might be far more motivated if Mrs. Obama would run. In early August, Michael Moore declared, “There is one person that would crush Trump and she hasn’t announced yet and her last name rhymes with Obama.” But the porcine provocateur almost certainly overestimates the former first lady’s prospects. Trump would probably defeat her.
There is a reason why, to further paraphrase Simon & Garfunkel, she has left and gone away. Michelle Obama may look around and see sympathetic eyes, but she learned something from the Clinton debacle that people like Lopez and Moore failed to grasp. Part of the reason she’s relatively popular is that she has betrayed no interest in climbing the greasy pole to public office. In the past, when she has insinuated herself into day-to-day politics, it hasn’t gone particularly well. Many voters still remember divisive comments like the following: “For the first time in my adult lifetime, I’m really proud of my country.”
When she made that bitter remark, she and her husband had already achieved breathtaking success. Should Mrs. Obama run for president, Donald Trump won’t hesitate to remind the voters that she still views the U.S. as a nation of racists, even after its voters ignored her husband’s color and elected him to its highest office. Trump would have plenty of ammunition, including one of the strangest interviews ever given by a President and First Lady. In December of 2014, they sat down with Sandra Sobieraj Westfall for a People interview during which Mrs. Obama described herself as a victim of racism:
I tell this story — I mean, even as the first lady — during that wonderfully publicized trip I took to Target, not highly disguised, the only person who came up to me in the store was a woman who asked me to help her take something off a shelf. Because she didn’t see me as the first lady, she saw me as someone who could help her. Those kinds of things happen in life. So it isn’t anything new.
She is so solipsistic and splenetic that she reflexively assumed the request was an example of racism. Michelle Obama is nearly six feet tall. A much less paranoid explanation is that “the woman in the case” was unable to reach a high shelf. Would such a trivial event still be on the mind of any normal person years later? Michelle Obama carries around a large chip on her shoulder. During the interview she said, “I think people forget that we’ve lived in the White House for six years. Before that, Barack Obama was a black man that lived on the South Side of Chicago, who had his share of trouble catching cabs.”
This is hardly the upbeat, hopeful tone that characterized her husband’s first campaign. Another point Trump is likely to raise about a potential Michelle Obama presidency is what could be called “the Lurleen factor.” If you are now frowning at the screen, here’s the story: In 1966 Alabama governor George Wallace was unable to succeed himself pursuant to a provision of the state constitution. Wallace arranged to have his wife, Lurleen, run for the office and she won. Because Wallace made the decisions during his wife’s administration, he successfully circumvented a pesky constitutional provision.
President Trump and his campaign team can make a credible case that electing Michelle Obama to the presidency would likewise circumvent the 22nd Amendment of the U.S. Constitution by effectively reelecting Barack Obama to a third term. If Michelle Obama does run, Trump will inevitably ask the voters if they want to go back to the “new normal.” This question will be raised just as the results of the investigations into Obama administration skullduggery involving Russiagate are coming out. These probes will likely reveal facts that will render the voters less than anxious to see the Obamas return.
Mrs. Obama claims “there’s zero chance” that she will run. She clearly believes there is life after the White House, and has definite plans to “make a difference” in the future. Nonetheless, she insists that “sitting behind the desk in the Oval Office will never be one of them.” That sounds sensible, but there will continue to be calls for her to bail out the Democrats and save the country from President Trump. When the pressure mounts for her to run, she will take a look at the last candidate who was a sure bet to beat him — Hillary Clinton. Michelle Obama has a good life. It’s not likely that she wants to end up like that.
———
Doug Schoen in Sep 2017 (link)
It cannot be overstated how eagerly the Democrats want to take back the White House in 2020.
The Democrats face many obstacles in this effort, but the greatest threat is the fierce internal divisions within the party.
Two of the leading prospective presidential candidates, Sens. Kamala Harris(D-Calif.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), have begun national fundraising operations. Former Vice President Joe Biden has been busy building a national email list to communicate directly with his supporters, and Rep. John Delaney (D-Md.) has already announced his presidential candidacy.
The Democratic Party does not just need a new leader, but a new policy agenda that is aimed at growing our economy, promoting traditional party values and doing more than resisting President Trump at every step.
Major Democratic donor Marc Lasry told The New York Times, “‘It’s gotten ridiculous,” and the Democrats “need a clearer message about what they want to do, not just about opposing Trump.”
As I’ve said before, the Democrats need an alternative plan to rebuild and unite the party if they have any hope in winning back seats in Congress in the 2018 midterms, nonetheless the White House in 2020.
This alternative plan requires a new, united opposition, led by a political leader with widespread popularity.
The only person I can see accomplishing this would be none other than the party’s most popular political figure: Michelle Obama.
Let me be clear: This is not an endorsement. I have been, and still am, critical of Barack Obama’s presidency. Michelle Obama would not be my candidate, and I do not agree with many of the positions I believe she would advance. But as an analyst, Michelle Obama is clearly the Democrats’ best chance to reunite the party and win back the White House in 2020.
Michelle Obama is perceived as a strong, well-qualified leader with immense national popularity. Broadly, the polls show she is respected by the American people and by the near-entirety of the Democratic Party.
Although Michelle Obama has stated that she is not interested in a presidential bid, her appeal and support for her husband remain robust.
According to the January 2017 USA Today/Gallup poll, Michelle Obama left the White House with a 68 percent favorability rating, compared with 58 percent for President Obama and 61 percent for Vice President Biden.
While it is common for first ladies to be more favored than their husbands, Michelle Obama’s favorability is substantially higher than Hillary Clinton’s rating of 56 percent from 2000 when she and President Clinton left the White House.
Further, in plain terms, Michelle Obama would be a far superior candidate to Hillary Clinton. I opposed Hillary Clinton because she faced ethical issues that could very well have initiated a constitutional crisis had she been elected. Michelle Obama does not face such controversy.
Furthermore, Michelle Obama’s favorability rating is significantly greater than President Trump’s. According to the RealClear Politics Average, Trump’s latest favorability rating lies at 39.7 percent — a whopping 30 points less than Michelle Obama.
Just last month, Public Policy Polling found there to be “significant yearning for a return to the days of President Obama,” with 52 percent of voters saying they wish Barack Obama was still president, and only 39 percent preferring president Trump.
In fact, in a series of hypothetical match-ups between leading Democrats and President Trump, Barack Obama’s 52 percent represents the highest level of support, outnumbering Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren in particular.
—————–
A Washington Examiner writer in July: (link)
Michelle Obama urged Democrats to offer real solutions to the nation’s problems instead of quick retorts to attacks from their rivals.
“That’s the one thing people ask me about, in this climate, how do you find it in yourself to go high and here’s the thing, going high is a long-term strategy because the truth is, going high is about thinking about trying to really get to the real answer, because a lot of time the low answer is our immediate instinct. It’s just, I’m mad, I want to punch you in the face, but it doesn’t solve anything,” the former first lady said Saturday at the Essence Festival in New Orleans.
“And if we’re thinking about what the agenda is, which is getting to a place where we all live in a country where we’re proud to pass on to our kids, going high is the only way we get there. It’s our patience, our tolerance, it’s our belief in honesty and truth, it’s our belief in hard work,” she said. “It’s not about getting somebody back, it’s not about the immediate clapback. The immediate clapback is just for your own selfish purpose right there in the moment and rarely does it solve anything.”
Obama’s comments follow Joe Biden comparing President Trump to a bully he would “smack” in the mouth as a child.
——–
Glamour magazine, 2018 (link)
In the eight years she lived in the White House, Michelle Obama gave us a lot of reasons to love her. And since she left, she’s given us even more: From her thoughtful words about our country’s problem with sexual assault to that time she spoke out about the racism she faced as First Lady, Obama is both likable and engaged with some of the country’s most urgent cultural issues. So much so that quite a few people are hoping she’ll put her name in the race for president in 2020. (According to opinion polls, she could win, too.) But Obama just set the record straight: She won’t be running for president, and she has a very good reason.
There’s been plenty of buzz about women like Obama and Oprah Winfreyrunning for presidential office in the next election. And although both have already shut down the possibility, rumors have still been flying that we might see them campaigning soon. It’s a hard no from the former First Lady, though, for one simple reason: She doesn’t want to be president.
“The reason why I don’t want to run for president—and I can’t speak for Oprah—but my sense is that, first of all, you have to want the job,” Obama said at the 39th Annual Simmons Leadership Conference in Boston Thursday.
She went on to candidly explain that just because a woman (or anyone) is intelligent, charismatic, and eloquent doesn’t mean she should be the next President. “And you just can’t say, ‘Well you’re a woman, run,'” she said. “We just can’t find the women we like and ask them to do it, because there are millions of women who are inclined and do have the passion for politics.”
Obama certainly doesn’t feel that way, despite giving beautiful speeches and being an incredible role model. “I’ve never had the passion for politics,” Obama said. “I just happened to be married to somebody who has the passion for politics, and he drug me kicking and screaming into this arena.”
Consider this case closed: We won’t be getting the Obamas back in the White House in 2020, but here’s hoping that women who are passionate about politics enter the race for the country’s top job. In the meantime, midterms are coming up: Catch up on this excellent story about two former female CIA agents running for Congress.
She may be the Dems best hope but I am still wagering that she will turn them down. As easy as they would make it for her the present gig is too comfortable. She can always say she WOULD have won.