Sorry fellow Democrats, but there is no "Safe" Presidential candidate for 2020 [View all]

[Tom Rinaldo]

Once upon a time, though long after dragons and unicorns allegedly walked the earth, there may have been one: a former two term Vice President who served under America's first and very popular African American President. That is how Joe Biden was presented to us, or to be more precise, how he presented himself to the Democratic electorate: A safe bet as the one man who could take it to Trump convincingly, unifying the party while he did so.

There was nothing obviously wrong with that thesis, that case certainly could be and has been made. The evidence to prove it however has so far come up sorely lacking. Yes, Joe Biden might possibly regroup and regain some lost footing as the primary contest moves south. He could in fact still win the Democratic nomination, but Biden's aura of near invincibility has been erased. Now Joe Biden is just one of several candidates with relative strengths and weaknesses for voters to weigh. Though no doubt still ready and extremely able to take on the duties of the Presidency, much of that fizz has left the bottle on the primary trail, and his campaigning has gone flat. Electable? Maybe, but Biden has some serious losing to account for first.

Then there is an up and coming fresh new face with a sharp command of his words and a good grasp on the issues, former Mayor Pete Buttigieg. He embraces both his youth and his identity, is at ease while talking about religion, and has served our nation honorably in war. With Mid Western roots, and a capacity to relate to Americans in the center, Pete argues he is most electable. Perhaps, but a safe bet? Seriously? An openly gay man has never previously run for President on a major party ticket. Almost by definition his electability is not a "safe" bet, it involves core unknowns. How far, and how deeply has America changed since gay marriages were outlawed? How ready is the American electorate to hand the leadership of our nation over to a man still in his thirties, the former two term mayor of America's 306th largest city? And critically important African American voters continue to be slow to warm to him. Pete's talent is undeniable. He might become our nation's next President. But a safe bet? Not even close.

What about our two leading women candidates, each of whom has distinguished herself in the United States Senate? I've seen reports that a fifth of the female Democratic electorate harbor real doubts that a woman can actually defeat Donald Trump in 2020. That's not the male chauvinists among us talking, these are people who want a female President. It might be the daring move, it might be the right move, and it may be the winning move, but it can not be described as the "safe" move to attempt to elect America's first woman President this November.

Meanwhile, though not quite to the same extent as Bernie Sanders with whom she somewhat share's the Left, Elizabeth Warren raises concerns with some as to whether she is too extreme in her own views to be elected, while simultaneously raising new doubts over her ability to elicit the enthusiasm needed to win the Presidency, given her third and then fourth place finishes in the contests held so far. Amy Klobuchar, for most Americans, is also a fairly fresh face, though she comes with a substantive political resume, one that most Americans know little about. She, perhaps more so than anyone else, has not been thoroughly vetted on the national stage. Can she capture the loyalty of leftist leaning voters? Will African American voters warm to this one time prosecutor who now registers essentially at 0% among Blacks for voter preferences? Amy presents too many unknowns herself to be called a "safe"presidential candidate in 2020.

Then there is Mayor Bloomberg, the man with bottomless pockets who opened them up in the not so distant past for Republican candidates for office. It wasn't so long ago that he himself was a Republican running for office, and he used that office, the Mayor of New York City, to warmly welcome and endorse George W. Bush for President at the Republican National Convention in 2004 - after the Iraq invasion. His time in office as New York's Mayor offers a checkered picture from a Democratic perspective. He was not exactly known for his warm relations with NYC's minority communities. He has never been seen as a man of the people. And for a lot of people concerned about our Democracy being for sale, Bloomberg looms large as the largest potential buyer. Not to mention that he is anathema to most leftist voters, a minority themselves to be sure but one whose votes could prove decisive in a showdown against Trump.

So who did I leave out? Oh yeah, Bernie Sanders. who so many leaders of the Democratic Party and people here as well dismiss as unelectable, even while he wins elections, tops the polls, matches up well in head to head match-ups against Trump, shows strength with all racial groups, and consistently registers approval numbers that put him among the best liked and most trusted people in national American politics today. Is Bernie Sanders a "Safe" bet for President? Of course not. That option today is as rare as Dragons and Unicorns. I don't have to here review the ways in which Sanders presents a risk, plenty of other people have already done so for me. 2020 is ripe with risks, but contrary to what some like to assert, those risks are distributed all across our current field of candidates. But what might present the biggest risk of all is for Democrats to nominate another candidate for President who fails to capture the imagination of the public. When we do so is when we most often fail.