What would you think about Robert Reich running for prez?

[babylonsister]

Lawrence O'Donnell just said it's a possibility. Why not?

[Smarmie Doofus]

1. Yes. If Sanders and/or Warren can't or won't run....

.... I'd support and send $$$ to Reich.

[Thinkingabout]

2. Did Lawrence O'Donnell give his stand on the issues?

[jwirr]

24. He said that the professor knows his subject and asked why not?

[Thinkingabout]

33. It is good he knows his subject, when in the position of president it would be good

to have knowledge in other areas especially foreign affairs and other general issues facing the US

[merrily]

38. Reich has been in national politics a very long time.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

3. If he wants to then why not?

[elleng]

4. He discussed it himself, today:

I appreciate the encouraging words from those of you urging me to run, but I'm way too short, too outspoken, and too unwilling to kiss wealthy posteriors to be a viable candidate. But if Elizabeth Warren remains adamantly opposed to entering the race, and if neither Hillary Clinton nor any other Democratic aspirant is willing to talk about the gross misallocation of income, wealth, and power in America -- and advocate resurrecting Glass Steagall and busting up the big banks; opposing trade deals the are killing American workers and boosting corporate profits; making it easier to form unions; limiting CEO pay; raising the minimum wage wage to $15 an hour; raising taxes on the rich to pay for better schools and infrastructure for everyone else; raising the cap on income subject to the payroll tax; and reversing "Citizen's United" and getting big money out of politics -- then I will have to reconsider.

(Incidentally, I'll be in New Hampshire April 8, speaking at the University of New Hampshire in Durham; and in Iowa May 16, keynoting the Working Families Summit in Ames.)

https://www.facebook.com/RBReich?fref=nf

[Major Nikon]

62. I think he realizes he's not presidential material

Because he simply won't compromise on the issues that count. That's why he didn't last past one term in the Clinton administration.

[elleng]

72. Yes, realizes too many compromises,

but I wouldn't say that shows not presidential material; something else. He had other issues with Clinton way back when. He wrote "Locked in the Cabinet."

[immoderate]

5. Like.

--imm

[dhol82]

6. No

He could never win.

We can't putz around with third party people this time around. This election will be too important.

[NYC_SKP]

7. "Too important"? Yes, too important to let a centrist win. nt

[dhol82]

10. No, too important

to let a Republican win.

I can at least hope that even a centrist Democrat will appoint Supreme Court Justices that are not right wing crazies.

[merrily]

39. Why post as though it has to be either a centrist or a Republican?

[daleanime]

11. Why?

Reason? Or just a gut feeling?

[dhol82]

22. He is not a politician

I know that that might be a positive for most, but when has anybody who is not a politician ever won an election?

Hell, you need some back up. What party machine is going to back him up with cash?

If Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders don't have a chance in a national election how could Robert Reich have one?

It's a nice thought people but let's look at reality.

[jwirr]

25. Why shouldn't he run in the primary? And what do you mean by third party? Are you sure you

know who he is?

[daleanime]

34. If he enters the primary....

that might be a point in his favor.

[merrily]

41. Ronald Reagan, Sonny Bono, Clint Eastwood and many others.

"If Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders don't have a chance in a national election"

Who said they don't?

[elleng]

12. Third party?

[babylonsister]

16. I don't know. He's a Dem. So, I hope not! nt

[elleng]

19. Exactly!

NO WAY he'd run 3rd party!

I'm pretty sure he doesn't want to, but his brains would lend a lot to debates, as O'Donnell said.

[NYC_SKP]

8. Yes, please! nt

[Nye Bevan]

9. He would be an interesting voice in the process (nt)

[babylonsister]

17. He would be great! nt

[Jake2413]

13. It would be great

as a Democrat.

[jhasp]

14. I've never donated to a politician...

but I'd send RR a big fat check.

[lonestarnot]

15. I think that would be an excellent idea. He drives a mini cooper.

[babylonsister]

18. Hey, you, so nice to see you.

And mini coopers are fun!

[lonestarnot]

20. Mini coop e doop Betty Boop!

Good to see you too babylonsister.

[babylonsister]

21. I hope life has been treating you well! nt

[merrily]

43. LOL! Are you trying to imply that's all he can afford?

[lonestarnot]

48. Ugh hmmm. LOL are you trying to imply. I don't try to imply. As a matter of fact, I am very blunt

and do not need to imply anything. I just say what's on my mind. So no, I was not trying to imply. You just dreamed that up right there.

[merrily]

52. Saying sending him a donation is a great idea because he drives a mini cooper doesn't imply

he needs money? What is the connection between his choice of personal vehicle and a campaign donation?

FYI, I don't always interpret correctly, but I never dream up squat and your accusing me of dreaming up stuff does absolutely nothing to explain why your prior post read as it did.

[lonestarnot]

54. You are very good at assuming other peoples' thoughts. Do you make any dough at it?

I think you are busted though, because I never mentioned money in the posts I made here.

[merrily]

55. You are very good at implying bs about me and Reich. How much dough do you make at it?

As far as I know, neither the centrists nor the rightists, kor anyone with money to spare pays for leftist posts. If you hear of anyone who does, let me know. Until then, I'll continue posting for free.

[lonestarnot]

56. This conversation is becoming absurd. No thanks.

[merrily]

58. That would have been Reply 15.

[pangaia]

65. Well, he can fit in one.

Brilliant guy...I'll give him that...

[jwirr]

23. I think it is a very good idea. He would really make the primary interesting and I think he would

make a great president if nominated.

[Greybnk48]

26. I'd vote for him in a heartbeat.

He's more in line with my politics than Hillary is. I'd vote for Bernie too for the same reason. That said, I will vote for Hillary if she's the candidate, but I would rather not have another "move to the right" President like Bill C. (who I loved, but, you know, cognitive dissonance policy wise).

[moonbeam23]

27. He's too short

He's a good guy...but...like Kucinich, a fabulous candidate for the radio age...

BTW, what's O'Donnell been smoking? Any trips to Denver lately?

[Darb]

46. What's with all the weak sauce?

Conspicuous, to say the least

[MADem]

50. He's single again, so I understand.

He's not bouncing his ideas off a significant other, maybe?

[Gregorian]

28. He's too sane. But he would bring truth to the debates

[closeupready]

29. I hated his efforts on NAFTA, but I'd vote for him over Hillary because

I like more of the things he's been saying lately; he seems more willing to buck the demands of the corporatist elites who are ruining the Democratic Party.

[Old and In the Way]

30. Absolutelely love the guy. Would make a great President

Can't win. Republican media will use his words, selectively, to make him an enem y of the State. Sorry.

[RufusTFirefly]

31. I would love to see RR enter the race

He's smart as a whip, a great explainer, and has a wonderful sense of humor.

As for his height: C'mon people. Grow up! Stop projecting your own shallowness on others.

[brooklynite]

32. He's too late?

If he hasn't started to get organized by now, he'll be running a weak and underfunded campaign.

[SheilaT]

35. It's an interesting idea, and I'd be happy to vote for him, given the chance.

But he's never been in electoral politics, and that itself is a huge drawback.

I once had the privilege at being at a sort of town hall thing at my local junior college where he was speaking, and I was honored just to be in the same room with him.

[Jack Rabbit]

36. It beats the idea of Hillary being president

Just to be clear about it, Hillary being president still sounds better than Ted Cruz being president.

[oberliner]

37. He is way too short

I don't even think he is 5 feet. There is no way he can get elected at 4 foot 11 inches.

[babylonsister]

42. He's smart but short? wtf? Our Prez is black, sort of. Who cares? nt

[merrily]

45. Fact: even before people had photos, the taller candidate almost always became President.

That is one of the reasons you don't see candidates in Presidential debates stand side by side, except for the brief time it takes for them to shake hands.

Not saying that is how it should be or even saying that's how it would be if Reich were to run. Just saying that it is an issue that Democrats and Republicans, as parties, have taken seriously enough to include in their agreements with TV networks about the Presidential debates.

[lonestarnot]

49. Demonstrates the deep thought of most Americans as tall has been inculcated to be better than short

and an American President by most perceptions is going to be just that, "he is too short." My Mom used to say, "Dynamite comes in small packages." He loves Americans, and he favors the working class American. He has my attention for that.

[Thespian2]

40. Why Not?

His ideas are certainly in line with progressive Democrats. That he is not a politician is a giant plus.

[Darb]

44. I WOULD FUCKING LOVE IT!!!!!!!

Jussayin

[MADem]

47. If he wants to do it, he should do it.

Not sure how much traction or "deep pockets" he would get. He has never held elective office, but he's worked for both GOP and Dem Presidents so he does have system familiarity. He did run (unsucessfully--tanked in the primary) for MA GOV so he has a little campaign experience as a candidate, but not a lot. He'd need to start finding a team.

Some of his messaging sounds a little defeatist, to my mind (college isn't for everyone, it's not a gateway to the middle class; it's affirmative action for the rich; etc--but he wasn't saying that when HE was going to university, e.g.), and that could be leveraged against him. I'm more of the "make college affordable to anyone who WANTS it, and that should include "vocational college" as well, if that's what people want..." school of thought. He likely feels the same way but his message could be cherry-picked in a GOTCHA way if people wanted to twist his words....and it's not like anyone would EVER do that, would they?

I think he burned a few bridges here and there, too. Not sure how good he'd be at the fundraising game. He could try doing the public financing, that would get him on the podium but he may be seen as a scold/spoiler/useful GOP tool, depending on what tack he takes. Or, he could serve as a blocker and deflect a lot of snark and garbage. It would be highly unlikely that he'd "run for VP" as some do. It's impossible to know unless and until he takes the plunge.

If he won, he'd be the shortest President ever, besting James Madison by a full five inches!

[zentrum]

51. Would love to see him...

…in the debates as he confronts the centrists. But not if he draws money and primary votes away from Warren and Sanders. Since he's unelectable, I think he may damage our few national progressives.

Why unelectable? It's not because of any flaw in him. It's the prejudices and stupidities of the general public. He's too professorial. too short and not Christian (I think).

[WillTwain]

53. Reich has a certain Charisma

He is a brilliant and charming guy. I love the fact that he was on Bill's team and may turn up challenging Hillary. Robert quit the Clinton term in midstream because he was being marginalized. Great, Great man. I love this guy.

[Dems to Win]

57. I'd support him, work for him, vote for him n/t

[haikugal]

59. I really, really like him...

Yes, I'd vote for him!

[Hubert Flottz]

60. I think it's a great idea.

Robert Reich would be fun to watch in the debates.

[pnwmom]

61. How about Reich as V.P.? Or as a Supreme Court appointee?

By the way, he's a Dartmouth/Oxford/Yale law school graduate.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Reich

From Wikipedia:
Robert Bernard Reich (/ˈraɪʃ/;[1] born June 24, 1946) is an American political economist, professor, author, and political commentator. He served in the administrations of Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter and was Secretary of Labor under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1997.

Reich is currently Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley. He was formerly a professor at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government[2] and professor of social and economic policy at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management of Brandeis University. He has also been a contributing editor of The New Republic, The American Prospect (also chairman and founding editor), Harvard Business Review, The Atlantic, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal.

Reich is a political commentator on programs including Hardball with Chris Matthews, This Week with George Stephanopoulos, CNBC's Kudlow & Company, and APM's Marketplace. In 2008, Time magazine named him one of the Ten Best Cabinet Members of the century,[3] and The Wall Street Journal in 2008 placed him sixth on its list of the "Most Influential Business Thinkers".[4] He was appointed a member of President-elect Barack Obama's economic transition advisory board.[5] Until 2012 he was married to British-born lawyer, Clare Dalton, with whom he has two sons, Sam and Adam. [6]

He has published 14 books, including the best-sellers The Work of Nations, Reason, Supercapitalism, Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future, and a best-selling e-book, Beyond Outrage. He is also chairman of Common Cause and writes his own blog about the political economy at Robertreich.org.[7] The Robert Reich – Jacob Kornbluth film Inequality for All won a U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Achievement in Filmmaking at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival in Utah.[8][9]

[grasswire]

66. he's even better than I thought he was!

Wow.

I read him on facebook every day and am consistently inspired.

[loyalsister]

63. Why waste his very effective use of celebrity to promote liberal values?

He can speak out more often, and offer his incredibly valuable assessments without the constraints that a president would have.

He is smart enough to know that maintaining his principled stand and not courting the big donors would throw away the advantage of incumbency and success that our party has.
He is a committed liberal, who I think would not want to choose between compromising his values and losing the presidency.

He has a great platform for promoting the truth with facts and charts and it is much more flexible than what a president has.

[babylonsister]

67. I love your argument, but all that lends to maybe

a run also. Maybe a principled stand would be embraced.

[loyalsister]

68. I wish I could believe that

But, living in a state that has ZERO limits on campaign spending breeds cynicism for me. Elected Dems here have been taking the principled stand and the republican majority seems to be ever expanding.
So, in a sense, I feel I have had to make a similar choice to the one I described. There are pro-life, pro-gun, anti-gay, religious zealots among the MO Democrats. There are so many cases where we have to take our friends where we can find them and they won't get elected without the offensive policy positions or the money they need to run successful campaigns. Right now the strategy seems to be to start early. It will be expensive but we are scrambling for a strategy to change that trend.

I love what he has to say and I really hope to keep having his liberal voice unleashed with the facts and outrage current conditions demand.

[Fuddnik]

64. I say go for it.

[dreamnightwind]

69. I would love for him to run!

The issues he speaks of absolutely need someone that matters to champion them in the primary.

He's very articulate. For the low-information types, I know of noone who can better explain complex topics in simple terms, in fact he draws them as he explains them, amazing.

Too short? How tall is Hillary? Taller than him, no doubt, still pretty short...

[madokie]

70. I'd be all for it

No matter who we support the teabillies will cry and moan about how that person is this or that person is that. I say we get behind the most promising person who will work on our behalf and support them in words and deeds

[mmonk]

71. He is someone I would back.

[mopinko]

73. he'd be great. seems like sanders is backing down.

i get the impression he is not hitting his money targets.

reich mentioned this in his fb feed yesterday. he is intent on a primary fight. he would be good. he has a real gift for explaining complex ideas.

[hunter]

74. He's brilliant, he's tough, and I'd vote for him.

And no U.S. politician ever has sought my endorsement.