Over at PostEverything, riffing off of Jeb Bush’s recent announcement to “…actively explore the possibility of running for President” which I think is how you signal your funders to prepare to crack open their vaults.
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I would be thoroughly amused to watch Jeb run on his record of inflating the FL housing bubble. (Ref http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/12/17/jebs-bubble/) Was there anything more to FL’s “growth” during his term as governor than the housing bubble? If he wins the nomination then come the general a half-decent Democrat would beat him a rented mule.
As for getting a half-decent Democrat on the ticket… That’s a problem.* Clinton is clearly the frontrunner. From my standpoint she’s well short of the half-decent mark. Warren says she’s not running: a) I believe her and b) I don’t think she’s a viable candidate on the national level. (I’m proud to have her as my Senator. We need her leadership in the Senate. I hope she serves a few more terms there.) Jim Webb? I can see him embracing populist economic policies. (He’s not good on climate and environmental issues but on economic and foreign policy I think he’s solid.) Who else they got?
* See Bill Moyers interviewing John T. MacArthur for a more in-depth discussion – http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-democrats-bow-wall-street/ See also Bill Greider, How the Democratic Party Lost Its Soul – http://www.thenation.com/article/190385/how-democratic-party-lost-its-soul#