2020 presidential election

In a column over the weekend, Max Boot noted that Trump has as yet been unable to adjust "to the brutal reality of dealing with a Democratic-controlled House.

Friday, Michael Bloomberg was campaigning in front of the Democratic Business Council of Northern Virginia when he assailed Señor Trumpanzee for what he called "a complete failure of presidential leadership" and "totally incompetent management." Addressing the Trump-McConnell shutdown, he added that "The whole episode really is a cynical, political stunt, and, unfortunately, we’re the ones paying the price.

Let me talk about something difficult for most people, though not for me. Next month I turn 71. My old friend Martha was just in town and she's either my age or a year younger. She's a research scientist at Columbia and recently retired. In college she was the only person I knew who was politically to the left of me. When she asked me who I was voting for next year, I said Bernie of course.

A new Axios/SurveyMonkey poll found that 74% of Democrats (and people who lean Dem) would consider voting for AOC if she were old enough to run for president. They also asked voters to compare her to the senior senator from her state-- Chucky-Schmucky-- and Dems have a 70% favorable/22% unfavorable impression of her and a 64% favorable/29% unfavorable impression of Schumer. God is good!

Duluth, Minnesota is a blue city surrounded by 4 blue counties-- Saint Louis, of which it is the county seat, Carlton to the south, and Lake and Cook to the north and east. All 4 counties went for Hillary in 2016, Saint Louis 51.9% to 40.1%. (The 4 counties were Bernie country in primaries.

JP Sottile joined me in the first hour to discuss the current political climate and the soon approaching 2020 Presidential election. We talked about the possibility of Trump not running in 2020 and the potential Republicans that might take his place. JP floated the idea of both John Kasich and Nikki Haley running. Later we talked about the seemingly endless list of Democrats lining up to take the nomination. JP and I touch on Kamala Harris, Beto O’Rourke, Mitch Landrieu, John Hickenlooper, Julian Castro, Kirsten Gillibrand, and Joe Biden.

 Bernie Sanders' November 2016 aggregate approval rating. Net favorable: +18%  Hillary Clinton's November 2016 aggregate approval rating.

This morning's news would have made anyone in TrumpWorld want to stay in bed. Ben White wrote that recession warnings are piling up, exacerbated by the Trump-McConnell government shutdown which itself is starting to look like a serious crisis nudging the country towards recession.

Too much winning? The coal industry is back? Nope: "Coal mines are closing faster than ever... A bleak outline tonight on the coal industry. A brand new report from CNN suggests more more coal plants have closed during the first two years of the Trump administration than the first four years of the Obama administration. It's not because of regulations but because of competition with cleaner, cheaper forms of energy. Another 20 plants are expected to close this year."Tangent/reminder: In 2016 Trump slaughtered Clinton-- 68.7% to 26.5%; he beat her in every single county.

The best of all possible worlds?by Thomas Neuburger I've written before comparing Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders as presidential candidates, but only preliminarily.