re: #473 wheat-dogghazi-mailgate

I grant the possibility such a person might pop up, but the three provisos seem unlikely to happen in one person, who would also need sufficient charisma to win people over.

What will not happen is introspection and reform by the nation’s media, who have largely welched on their traditional role of the “Fourth Estate” in favor of partisan politics (and sexist coverage). Corporate media is the weak link in the election process, and I’m not confident they will do a better job in 2020.

Just typing that number amazes me. When I was a kid, 2020 was like the far future.

Agree with your second point, but not the first: “charisma”, while certainly a useful trait in a national candidate isn’t (IMO) an absolute necessity. I think personability shortcomings can be overcome (or at least minimized) by a combination of factors:

1. Adequate financing
2. A strong national organization behind them
3. Solid, professional campaigning
4. Diligent media massaging.*

Applying these factors with good campaign discipline may not guarantee a win, but it will at least make the race close.

Oh, and yeah: when I was a kid, I would have imagined living in the year 2016 probably like something out of The Jetsons . Still waiting for those flying cars….

*ETA: factors, we’ll notice, conspicuously lacking in Donald Trump’s campaign.