October 22, 2012

Villaraigosa in 2016!

From Politico:
The Los Angeles mayor gave a pretty obviously nonresponsive answer when Radio Iowa's O. Kay Henderson asked if he has any presidential ambitions for 2016: 
Villaraigosa spoke with Radio Iowa before his speech this evening. As for whether Villaraigosa might run for president in 2016, Villaraigosa said he plans to “reflect” when his term as mayor ends in the middle of next year before deciding what he’ll do next. “I want to figure out how we move America and, importantly, my state, toward what I call a radical middle,” he said.
He was in Iowa to headline the state Democratic Party's Jefferson-Jackson Dinner, which is of course what you do if you are simply interested in promoting policies of the "radical middle." 
Villaraigosa has talked about running for governor of California in the past, so it's no shock that he has ambitions beyond his city and perhaps state. That he (as well as other mayors like Cory Booker and Rahm Emanuel) are already being talked about as presidential prospects for next cycle reflects both the prominence of mayors in the Democratic Party, and the relatively thin collection of governors and senators the party might field in 2016 if Hillary Clinton doesn't run.

The Democrats actually still have a number of white male governors with executive experience and track records of appealing to state-wide electorates who sound far more plausibly Presidential than these guys. But the Democratic Party is evolving along with the demographics of America, so, yeah, sure, why not Tony Villaraigosa in 2016? 

29 comments:

Auntie Analogue said...

Let us therefore brace ourselves, so that if the Mexinvasion should last for a thousand years, people will say, "This was their prime best hour."

Truth said...

Martin Heinrich, here in NM is becoming quite popular and may be being primed for a big run in 2016, and guess what guys; he's WHIIIIIIIIIIIIIITE!

Sojourner said...

If you think Obama mugs for the camera I can only imagine what a Villaraigosa would be like. At one point I swore I saw him everywhere in a month, including stopping to "help" direct traffic at an accident.

Anonymous said...

moving america towards the radical middle is really easy. in fact

1. no more people named villaraigosa
2. no more bailouts for wall street
3. no more ghetto trash molesting grandmothers at airports
4. no more wars for israel

radical middle achieved

Whiskey said...

Villaraigosa is a scandal rich environment. Ask Luke Ford. There are all sorts of rumors about his personal life, and he's been publicly outed as having an affair with a subordinate's wife, a news gal, etc. He's not a serious candidate, he's more like Mike Gravel.

And after the experience of Obama, lots of soaring BS, David Dinkins in results, people are likely to focus on the nuts and bolts. Not "transformational" stuff.

Grumpy Old Man said...

First, he's dumb as a rock.

Second, he can't keep it zipped, and he doesn't have Bill Clinton's bad-boy charm to cover it over.

Third, he's not nimble. The Jerusalem vote at the DNC showed him as a deer in the headlights.

Obama can be eloquent, he reads, and he looks good in an expensive suit. VR, not so much.

AMac said...

What name could proclaim Presidential Timber better than "Villaraigosa"? Suggested bumper sticker: "Villar-Contreras-Raigosa-Salinas-etc.: As faithful to his lofty ideals as he is to his women."

DaveinHackensack said...

So the 2016 Democratic Primary could include:

- Hillary

- Villa

- Corey Booker (probably a Senator then)

- That $5k a year ceremonial mayor of San Antonio.

Svigor said...

If the Dems think "first brown president" resonates with the electorate the way the "first black president" did, they're delusional. Not even close.

Noah172 said...

Now that the Democrats have checked the black box (and, I suppose, checked the Jew box with Lieberman in 2000, but they don't talk about that much now), The Next Big Thing in diversity mongering is either Latino or homosexual... or how about both?

In Wisconsin, lesbian Tammy Baldwin has been leading farty old white male Republican Tommy Thompson in the Senate race. If she wins, you had better believe we will be hearing more about her from the great and good.

Villaraigosa-Baldwin 2016! You heard it here first.

Anonymous said...

Absolutely must watch video of Villaraigosa from the DNC convention this year:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cncbOEoQbOg

Son of Brock Landers said...

The competent white males with good resumes are Cuomo, Warner and O'Malley. Omalley is staking liberal bona fides on passing SSM this noverber, but he's got a small problem, 29% of Maryland is black. the SSM referendum hould be Ok for him, but he has to GOTV due to congressional races mattering in case we have to settle POTUS with cognressional delegation votes as well as the popular vote optics for the remote chance of a 269-269 electoral tie. If SSM fails, O'Malley loses a chip that Cuomo has.

The article on politico only mentions Villaraigosa, Booker and Rahm, then ends with Hillary. They only talk of the minority or female possibilities. This is all coded messaging about how wonderfully diverse the Dems are compared to those awful, SWM dominated meains in the GOP.

Steve Sailer said...

"First, he's dumb as a rock.

Second, he can't keep it zipped, and he doesn't have Bill Clinton's bad-boy charm to cover it over.

Third, he's not nimble."

Well, yeah, sure, there's all that. But, still ...

First Latino/a President!

Anonymous said...

The Next Big Thing in diversity mongering is either Latino or homosexual... or how about both?

Nacho Vidal?

Anonymous said...

Ah, but you're forgetting that Romney is Hispanic.

irishman said...

His name villaraigosa is a compound of his name villar and his wife's name raigosa. I'm sorry but once that's widely known he'll be nothing but a punchline.

Regardless of how much the media protect him.


I have just looked up Martin Heinrich, the guy Truth mentioned, damn he's hot.

Dennis Dale said...

I've become convinced that liberals never really believed in intellectual parity between the races; they've been quietly assuming the differences weren't so great (we could even ignore them if evil racists would stop obsessing over them).

So they assume there'll always be enough exceptional NAMs from the right side of the bell curve to recruit into gov't and force upon industry without too much trouble, and the slight difference in brains and ability will be gradually reduced or sensibly obscured until it doesn't matter any more because whites have been reduced to a cowed plurality.

But it seems they have a problem in the near-term (before minority-block voting makes the glaring mediocrity of a Booker or Villaraigosa irrelevant), waiting, like the characters in Godot, for the arrival of a responsible and capable black/brown elite. Don't hold your breath, guys.

I mean, Barack Obama stunned us with his uncommon brilliance--they insist--in 2008, and now we're back to scraping the barrel to bring up Booker, Antonio and that androgyne mayor of San Antonio whose name escapes me? Is anyone getting nervous on the left yet? Hello, McFly?

Of course the republicans have provided the model for putting a dolt in the WH with GWB. Just make sure there's adult supervision around him, and brace yourself whenever he has to speak in public.

Automatic_Wing said...

Oh yes, please.

Svigor said...

"First, he's dumb as a rock.

Second, he can't keep it zipped, and he doesn't have Bill Clinton's bad-boy charm to cover it over.

Third, he's not nimble."

Well, yeah, sure, there's all that. But, still ...

First Latino/a President!


LOL!

"First re-elected mulatto president" trumps that any day. They'd be better off running 0bama again in 2016.

Which reminds me, Romney's doing his best to help blacks, really; there hasn't been a "one and done" black president yet, and Romney's going to help 0bama gitRdun.

Anonymous said...

Gov. Mike Beebe of Arkansas could put Arkansas in play.

~Risto

Marlowe said...

On the 'dumb as a rock' objection I quote a former close associate of George McGovern:

There is no need for the president of the United States to be smart.

He can be hovering on the grim cusp of brain death and still be the most powerful man in the world. He can arrest the chief of the Mafia and sell the Washington Monument to Arabs and no one will question his judgment

These things happen ... and he is, after all, our leader, a man widely admired by the public. Year-end polls show him always to be the "best dressed," the most popular, and the most-desired donor to all sperm banks. They laughed at Thomas Edison, but they whimper like dogs when they come to the gate of the White House.

-- Generation of Swine, Hunter S. Thompson, 1985

Truth said...

"Which reminds me, Romney's doing his best to help blacks, really; there hasn't been a "one and done" black president yet, and Romney's going to help 0bama gitRdun..."

Only if those damn Blue state, pinko-commie socialists long-hairs and knee-grows keep there nose out of it!

Anonymous said...

Here's my prediction:

John Edwards will make the greatest comeback in American politics and become the democratic nominee in 2016.

He will then pick a Hispanic running mate with an unfortunate last name.

This will be the Edwards-Cojones ticket.

Golden Bear said...

I had a great deal of respect for Mayor V, until I found out about his extra marital affairs and disrespect for his wife.

I am really tired of this type of behavior among politicians.

Anonymous said...

Tony won't run for the presidency. To be considered presidential material he'd have to run for a higher office in California first, and no Northern Californian would vote for an L.A. mayor. When Bradley ran for governor he lost Alameda County, the county with the highest percentage of blacks in the state.

anony-mouse said...

'Villaraigosa-Baldwin 2016!'

Then no woman will be safe.

Marc B said...

Villaraigosa won't sell outside of California in the same way nobody west of the Hudson River cared about Rudy Giuliani, and Villaraigosa is a far more divisive figure.

Mountain Maven said...

He combines the worst aspects of Obama and john Edwards. Never had a real job (was a union organizer), can't keep his zipper up. Can't pass the bar exam. We won't have another affirmative action president for a long time, if ever.

Anonymous said...

"First Latino/a President!"

Oh Steve, you're so behind. It's Latin@ now.