Kremer’s Corner – The winner is far from known

Jerry Kremer

Are you tired of politics yet? Have the antics of President Trump exhausted you? Are you bleary-eyed from watching Democratic debates, with at least ten or more candidates? How many times can you hear the words “breaking news” and it really isn’t “breaking” or “news”?

Well for the record, nothing much is going to happen before March when the state-by-state primaries start.

If you are a Republican Donald Trump is your candidate, like it or not. If you are a Democrat, you have so many choices depending on your mood, the time of day or which candidate floats your boat.

But no matter how many debates there are on cable news, there are still only about five or six possible candidates that have a serious chance of being a nominee for either president or vice president.

The leader of the pack is former Vice President Joe Biden with Elizabeth Warren closing in. Good days or bad days, Biden continues to survive for a variety of reasons. He is the most experienced candidate in the field and having been President Obama’s trusted partner helps.

Despite being pummeled by President Trump with phony charges of misconduct in Ukraine, Biden offers a return to normalcy at a time when most of the Democrats just want someone who will act and perform like a leader.

Elizabeth Warren had an early start on the campaign trail and the results show it. She has a good field team in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada, three early primary states. She is attractive to most liberal Democrats.

She has a program for everything from free college tuition to curing the common cold. She takes hundreds of selfies at her rallies and never shows any fatigue.

Bernie Sanders was staying close to the top two, but his heart attack may be a serious setback. There are four candidates over 70 if you count the president, but no one knows if the Sanders base sticks with him or switches their allegiances to Mrs. Warren.

I am the last one to criticize any candidate over age, but the public judges every candidate on whether they can serve for four years and survive. If Sanders fades, Warren benefits.

The remaining candidates seem poised to either have a magic moment that propels them upward or will fade before the big contests begin. Kamela Harris still has some gas in the tank but she has only had one breakout night and nothing since. Corey Booker has managed to stay alive but has yet to show that he is the heir to any of the top group, should one fail. I find Booker as a candidate who yells too much and doesn’t convey compassion on a constant basis.

Mayor Pete Buttigieg has amassed a lot of donors and definitely attracts many new believers. But his lack of serious experience will work against him and there is no way at this point in time that there will be a spot for him at the top of the ticket.

But with a lot of money he will stay alive well into the primary season. Sen. Amy Klobuchar is no doubt the other most moderate candidate, but she hasn’t had that one big moment. She may hang on through the early primaries.

My millennial family members tell me they like Andrew Yang and Beto O’Rourke. Some observers lean towards Julian Castro and even like Tulsi Gabbard.

I haven’t figured out billionaire Tom Steyer whose claim to fame is his business success. Steve Bullock is a red-state governor, who wins election after election and might be a surprise if the media starts to notice him.

For now, we are left with Biden and Warren. Biden is still alive because of the belief that he is electable. Warren is doing great in the primaries, but she has taken far too many liberal positions and she might be extremely vulnerable if she is the party’s candidate.

She will become the target in the upcoming debates and that could put a major dent in her current status. But what if the two front runners falter? I leave that topic for another day.

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