Once Again Into The Fray

We are now on the downwind leg of President Obama's term in office. Excuse me, did I just hear a collective sigh of relief? Not so fast. That is not over until it is over. There are still ways that a person lacking moral stricture could keep control of the Resolute desk. So barring something too unseemly to seriously consider, we will have a Presidential election in 2016 and a new President in 2017.

But who? We will have gone through eight years of an unready, unskilled President. The country and the world has the bumps and bruises to share for it. But is the hard left liberal world, from whence Obama came, ready to abandon their agenda? I doubt it. They have a foot in the door and an investment to double down on.

So will they push Hillary? Obama didn't ask her to be Secretary of State because he liked her. He wanted to control her and use her as a foreign policy shield. The control part worked well for a time. The shield, not at all. But Hillary is not a favorite of the hard left, she is old. She has health issues. She has a ton of baggage. Frankly, she was a fool to give up her senate seat. I just can't see Hillary being the candidate.

Elizabeth Warren has been mentioned by some. She certainly has the hard left credentials. But she is an academic with no real world experience and a finagled resume. Her one strong point is that, while at Harvard, she taught bankruptcy law. With our country's financial state under Obama, that may be useful.

So, where does that leave us? Bernie Sanders and Dennis Kucinich have been discussed. That would give us a curmudgeon or a hobbit for President. I just can't picture either one of them walking out of the Democrat Convention with a smile.

So, I'll give you two names and three people. The first name is Castro. Joaquin and Julian are twin brothers from Texas. Julian has just been named Secretary of Housing and Urban Development by President Obama. That gives him almost four years of exposure on the big stage. Joaquin is a member of the House of Representatives. Both are Harvard educated lawyers. Does that ring a bell?

OK, I said two names and three people. Let us not count out the ever popular Michelle. Can I use the phrase "dark horse candidate" here without being accused of racism? I have written before that I think she would love to abandon the East Wing and set up shop in the West Wing. I still rate that as a strong possible. 

Watch for public exposure. The Castro brothers need name recognition. But for better or worse they are three to watch over the next few years. I am sure as things develop we will have this discussion again.