The Starting Five

We finally got a taste of our Democratic candidates on stage taking questions from students selected by CNN.  It was a rather stilted affair, not to mention long.  Five candidates each had one hour to face America's young electorate.  It's all about the Millennials this year, for better and for worse depending on your news source.

Mayor Pete was among the five candidates and by far the most popular among the students, although crusty old Bernie still has some pull.  Liz made a direct appeal by saying she would levy a two percent tax on the uber-rich to provide student loan relief and eventually make all education free, from day care to university.  Dear Amy from the Great Purple State of Minnesota was having none of it, telling the audience she wished she could staple a free college diploma under every one of the students' chairs, but no can do as she threw a wet towel on the event by preaching pragmatics.  That left Kamala to take the final turn, another crowd favorite with a glowing smile and California appeal, who spun back to the progressive side of the party after Amy's dour presentation.

Pete was questioned for not having any policy positions on his web site, to which he responded it is all about getting to know the candidates at this point.  He's right to a certain degree.  We want to know if they are winsome or not, and to address any personal skeletons they might have in the closet, but ultimately it is policy that makes or breaks candidate.  Liz laid it all out there, not just a plan but a means of realizing that plan, which not even Bernie has done to this point.  We still get a bunch of wild-haired notions from him with the tag line if European countries can do it, we can do it too.  He just fails to mention that Scandinavian countries have a 70% tax rate.  Something that won't sit well with very many Americans, or many Scandinavians for that matter.

For some odd reason an overwhelming number of questions came from Harvard students, making you wonder if other universities didn't get the memo to provide questions.  Hopefully, CNN will rectify that next time around because nothing says stuffy liberal elite like Harvard, and Democrats are trying hard to shed that image this election cycle.  They have to win back rural and suburban America.  You need kids from Iowa, Nebraska, Indiana, Kentucky and even Minnesota, where Miss Amy proudly boasted she won all 40 districts in the last Senate election, even crazy Michelle Bachmann's district, but the audience had to be coaxed into an applause.

One thing is clear, the media can cross Amy Klobuchar off the list.  She came across as the Democratic version of Susan Collins.  Interest in her largely stems from the Kavanaugh hearings, where she had a very direct confrontation with the Supreme Court nominee over drinking.  She has proven herself to be an effective senator but has virtually no appeal to a broader electorate.  That was clear from the start when it was leaked she had been pretty hard on her staff.

Mayor Pete is trying hard to make his flavor last beyond the first month but so far has yet to enumerate any policy positions.  He is quick however to point out the flaws in others.  This is the approach Bill Clinton took back in 92 and it carried him all the way to the White House, so Pete maybe onto something.  However, it isn't going to sit well with his opponents.  I remember Paul Tsongas being particularly peeved at the way Bill liked to pick over his policy positions only to use them later on in the campaign.  All's fair in politics, not just love and war.

Bernie finds himself struggling to hold onto his lead position among progressives.  Support has eroded in the past month and looks like it will erode even more.  Liz not only has taken a strong stand on progressive issues, but has outlined how she would achieve these lofty goals.  Bernie has become pretty much the Ron Paul of the Democratic Party, writing books that are long on ideas but short on substance that make you wonder why he just doesn't go into retirement.  Liz isn't much younger.  She will turn 70 this June, but looks 10 years younger, whereas Bernie looks like he is well past 80.  I think Liz will win this battle among septuagenarian liberals.

Liz faces tough competition in Kamala, who is by far the most telegenic candidate, and supports the same progressive agenda, even if she is leaving it up to Liz and others to offer solutions.  After a big opening splash, Kamala Harris has pretty much laid low, content to ride out this early jockeying for position among the other candidates as she knows it is a long, long race.  All she has to do is smile and she melts a studio audience.  This must really get Liz's goat, as she has to work so hard just to get a reaction.  Don't sell Kamala short however.  She has a good track record and showed herself well during the Kavanaugh hearings and other Senate judicial committee hearings.

CNN will present the other candidates in the coming days.  We will get to see Big Joe on stage, as Biden finally announced his bid after weeks of speculation.  He's currently polling 8 points better than Trump and is the clear front-runner among Democrats.  I don't think Joe has the stomach for a long campaign.  It probably would have been best for him to wait until late Fall to announce his candidacy, as John Kerry did back in 2004, but there was just too much energy swirling around the Democrats and Joe was anxious to get into the mix.  He wants to be the Good Grandpa.

I'm curious to hear Andrew Yang, who actually announced his candidacy last November.  He's a sharp young guy who is going after the manufacturing vote, which Trump stole in 2016.  What sets him apart is that he has real solutions and seems the perfect candidate in this high tech age.  He hasn't generated as much buzz as Mayor Pete but I think will turn heads once he gets more national exposure.

What thrills me is that we are finally getting the campaign we deserve.  2016 was awful.  Hillary appeared to think the nomination was hers by acclamation and Bernie was seen as the only alternative.  The Old Bern had his moments, but it was a doomed campaign that did more to stir unrest in the party than it did to bring progressive issues to the forefront.  We are still living with the shadow of Hillary in this campaign but one hopes that after a few more of these town halls and debates this summer, we will finally be past 2016.