Race for the White House 2020 # 36

In thinking about political developments, I keep getting confused about what happened this past week and what might have happened the week before and perhaps already talked about. At least next week, there will be much to discuss as the next ten Democrats will debate on the ABC television network. This debate will be limited to only the 10 contenders that anybody feel has even a prayer of a chance of capturing the nomination at this point.

As best I can remember, nobody dropped out of the race this week. New York City Mayor Bill deBlasio though is said to be considering future options. Others, such as Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan, just to name one, continues to run for President in virtual obscurity. I suppose the one "dropout" might have been the once hyped Starbucks honcho Howard Schultz who made it clear he will not run for President as an Independent. In making this totally non-surprising announcement, he said he did not want to do anything that might possibly harm a mainstream Democrat from beating Donald Trump. Of course, Democrats still have to nominate a "mainstream" person. To those, who think that is important, Joe Biden is pretty much the holder of the basket with all the eggs.

This past week, all sorts of Democrats went to a CNN form on climate change matters and promised to make illegal or think about making illegal all sorts of things that the American people might not appreciate. Biden was there too but was noted more for some sort of issue where his eye filled with blood than promising to ban hamburgers or anything like that.

I suppose that since I endeavor to cover all personalities who might enter the fray, there is some teasing from Lincoln Chafee, the former Rhode Island Republican U.S. Senator turned Independent Governor turned failed 2016 Democrat Presidential candidate that he might run again... as a Libertarian.

As usual, Donald Trump continued to make headlines in the usual ways, by feuding with sitcom actresses over Twitter (not that Debra Messing and her McCarthyite stance does not deserve criticism) but especially by insisting that Alabama was in the path of Hurricane Dorian, despite being cleared for potential damage days before. In a much talked about incidence, Trump is even said to have taken a Sharpie to a map to extend the reach of the hurricane to Alabama, one of his most politically potent states. Nobody is really sure why, but the Trump Administration has remained quite stubborn that Alabama was at risk and that the POTUS absolutely did not misspeak at any time. Also, that the hurricanes under his watch are the biggest, baddest hurricanes ever known to man.

Taking a Sharpie to a hurricane map is probably only the 89th most unethical thing Trump has done, just this summer, but of course points to his incessant need to always be right. He is quite a childlike figure, as many of us have known for years. (Is it possible, as I saw someone suggest online, that he does not know Alabama from Bahamas? They have some of the same letters after all.)

Trump is not the only one to be dumb about this recent hurricane. Marianne Williamson, the kooky New Age guru, with a cult following as a Democrat Presidential candidate insisted that prayer and love could turn the hurricane away.  Imagine if Pat Robertson had said something like that..

At least we can be grateful that Beto O'Rourke did not go on live television to throw profanities at the hurricane or the Joe Biden did not talk about the time when he was Vice President and saved hundreds from the ravages of Hurricane Katrina.