Dem
51
GOP
49
Why are so many people running for the GOP nomination? Don't they understand that if they want to win big they should buy tickets for the Irish Sweepstakes, where at least they have some chance? Politico took a look at that and can't figure it out, either. Maybe some are hoping to run for some other office later and think the PR is useful. Nikki Haley has an outside shot at being veep on a ticket with Ron DeSantis if she does well in the campaign. That's legitimate. A couple of the others might be gunning for an ambassadorship to some unimportant country, although attacking a future president (especially the thin-skinned Trump) probably isn't the way to go there. Once in a while, it might lead to a good job later. Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of the fourth-largest city in the 17th-largest state (by population), ran a top-notch campaign, impressed people, and landed a job as Secretary of Transportation. Vivek Ramaswamy, who crossed paths with Buttigieg at Harvard, knows that and is following Buttigieg's playbook as closely as he can. Still, that's a long shot, so what's up with the rest? Jeff Timmer, a former executive director of the Michigan Republican Party, said: "The motivations are bolstering their statures, satisfying their ego, pure delusion and fantasy." That sounds about right to us.
Some of them don't seem to know how ridiculous they look. Perry Johnson bragged to Politico: "On Friday, I was at 1.4%." Maybe he thinks Trump's legal problems will take him down, one way or another. That's certainly possible. If the former president is convicted of multiple crimes before the Iowa caucuses, they could give Republican voters pause. Not the hard-core Trump supporters, but maybe some people who are Republicans because they don't like the Democrats and who haven't consumed the Trump-flavored Kool-Aid. The problem for someone like Johnson is that he is not next in line. He is about ninth in line. Not only would Trump have to fall, but also more than half a dozen folks much better known and plausible than he is. That's true, more or less, of much of the field. For example, Larry Elder is much better known than Johnson is, if only because he ran for governor in a recall election and was crushed. Maybe being unknown is better, but we're not so sure.
Some of the candidates are in way, way over their heads. In a radio interview with Hugh Hewitt, Miami mayor Francis Suarez was asked what he thought of the plight of the Uyghurs. He asked: "What's a Uyghur?" Wrong answer. The plight of the Muslim Uyghurs, whom China has been mistreating for years, has been news for a long time. The correct answer is: "China has a terrible human rights record and I am appalled by it." Suarez is going to be a punch line going forward. The very least an unknown candidate has to do is bone up on all the issues he might be asked about. China is clearly on the list. He's toast.
In any event, except for DeSantis, who actually has a chance to get the nomination if Trump is taken out, and Haley, who has a shot at being #2, and Christie, who isn't running to win but to revive the party of Ronald Reagan and the Bushes, we can't see the point of most of the other candidates' campaigns. President Hurd? Unhurd of. (V)