I happened to see a shiny new ‘Tulsi’ bumper sticker the other day. I was a bit surprised, but it did break the monotony – on those occasions when I do see bumper stickers around here, they’re most often the usual suspects (although there is the occasional Trump-Pence one, and not necessarily on the back of an Audi, either). Maybe I need to get out into the hinterlands more; I’m generally obliged to spend most of my time in the near vicinity of Albany, though thankfully not actually in that place.

I forgot what else I was going to say, other than to note the presence of TommyJay the Iowan (I think about Iowa all the time now – quite an unexpected change from, say, 3 years ago).

Oh, yes, about Tulsi Gabbard – (i) I keep thinking she should be from Oklahoma, (ii) she being from Hawaii IIRC, it would create an amusing historical and geographical symmetry with Palin if she were to become VP candidate, and (iii) I ran across an old set of limericks I wrote once in which I used the word ‘gabardine’, so her surname partly reminds me of that.

I agree with everything you said, except the part about people in the US not being ready for a female president. I could be wrong, but I think people would easily get behind someone like say, Nikki Haley.

I don’t think most people in the US are ready for a female president. It’s a sad truth, but politics for most people seems to be a largely emotional issue. As discussed in your circle-dance post. People want lots of things in a president, they want a role model, and a problem-solver, and someone who makes the country look good (much of the hatred of Trump seems to stem from a visceral anger about how gauche he is, just as much of the love of Obama seemed to stem from a visceral delight at how cool he seemed to be). But at the end of the day there is a sense that we need someone to protect us. It’s bizarre that it tends to be an afterthought, but eventually people remember that the president is the commander in chief, and that role just doesn’t seem natural for a woman. (Yet?)

I was excited about Tulsi Gabbard when she first came on the scene. She is very, very well spoken, and her military background made me happy. But when she went to Syria and met with Assad, I gave up on her. And she doesn’t seem to support Israel, which is a dealbreaker for me.

She’s better than Harris, though, so I’m glad to see this development.

I don’t think any of these candidates, no matter how they pair up, can beat Trump next year. But I have been wrong about every political prediction I have ever made!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=317fGP6pfxs&feature=youtu.be

I am an Obama supporter who voted for Trump. I voted for Trump because HRC has never seen a war she didn’t like, and her sense of entitlement and her use of public positions to make herself rich reeks of a dishonesty beyond belief. Kamala is another HRC. She lies about her record, she was ridiculous during the whole Kavanaugh affair. If she is considered a raising star, help us all. Tulsi doesn’t scare me. Kamala scares me. At this rate, I thing Trump will be reelected. He may be a ‘bull in a china shop’, but he loves the country and has done surprisingly
well with gale force head winds to boot.

But I also think that the Democrat race is such a trainwreck now that *anything* could happen. And I think something will happen that no one has an inkling of now.

I hope you are right. We do not have long to wait to see how it turns out.

I doubt Paul Ryan would have been Speaker of the House, without his previous VP candidate spot. And after he stepped down from the Speakership, he was offered a megabucks position as the head of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, but turned it down.

We are a long way away from Harry Truman’s day when he retired in near poverty.