It sure looks to me like Gavin Newsom is running for President. I mean, I can’t say for sure. He and I haven’t talked recently. And HE says, “Oh no, not me!” But, of course, he would. He’s a Democrat in good standing and he’s not going to rock the boat by running against Joe Biden. But he keeps…doing things. As the Governor of California (55 electoral votes), his profile is already pretty high.

But his high-profile spat with Ron DeSantis of Florida seemed mostly about increasing his name recognition on a national level AND hopefully being seen as a defender of the Florida common man (29 electoral votes). Then he’s off again, negotiating climate agreements with the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, Winnie-the-Pooh. No, I’m sorry, it’s Xi Jinping, Chairman Xi. Bother. International relationships with high-profile world leaders? Check.

On the other hand, he has a legitimate role in climate negotiations and governors DO snipe amongst themselves from time to time. It COULD all be normal. Either way, he’s positioned for 2028, should America (or humanity, for that matter) survive until 2028. But by then, nobody will remember Newsom rubbing DeSantis’ nose in it and negotiating with Xi. So maybe he sees, or even knows, something the rest of us don’t. I’ll tell you what I see.

I think Democrats are making a HUGE mistake with their currently held position that ‘Well, Biden beat Trump once, he can do it again.’ I don’t really think Biden beat Trump. I mean, I’m no MAGA, I know Biden prevailed fair and square in a perfectly legitimate election. But people voted Biden in order to stop Trump. It could have been nearly anybody. (Nearly. A certain wife of a certain ex-President, it could NOT be. But anybody else…) The only criteria America used in 2020 was, “Who’s not Trump?”

But speaking of not Trump, what if the candidate isn’t Trump? There are two cases happening right now, trying to keep Trump off the ballot via the 14th Amendment. If they prevail, as they should, other states will follow as quickly as they can and Trump will be dropped from state after state. Trump might well be simply declared ineligible before the 2024 election. Or what if he’s in jail? I know the die-hardest of the die-hards will vote for him anyway, but I doubt you’ll find too many rational Americans, Republican OR Democrat, willing to cast their ballot for Inmate 1875150.

What if Trump is dead? I mean, he’s got a few years under his very large belt, too, and he doesn’t exercise. (Driving a golf cart from hole to hole doesn’t count.) He’s under tremendous stress, right now. He’s about to lose his daddy’s business and then go to prison. At his age, in his condition, that kind of pressure can just explode a person’s heart.

Also, and I hate to say this, for all of our bluster about how super-de-duper honest the voting machines are, I still don’t trust them and I never have. The reason I mention it is, thanks to Covid-19 (what happened to Covids 1 – 18?) people were pushed to use paper ballots. (Standard rant: ALL voters should ALWAYS use paper ballots. NONE of us can know, for sure, how dependable the machines are, but pen to paper has always been pretty dependable. Besides, you can vote in nothing but your underwear! Less, if you want to.)

I’ve long been struck by Trump’s claims that he got more votes. He didn’t, but he’s just sure he did. If it’s not just a gimmick, why would someone believe they had the most votes no matter what? The thought has crossed my mind that he thinks so because he knows he paid the money for the most votes. But when the voting was pushed to paper, manipulation of the machines was no longer possible. Yet another failed investment by Donald J. Trump. But in 2024, the machines are back!

Listen, I think Biden has done a pretty good job, so far. I know MAGA disagrees but they think they live in a Mad Max style, dystopian hell-hole and 45 is being framed so…no one’s best source of information. I suspect most thinking Americans agree with me. But people are very wary of his age. (It’s scary!) I know, Trump is old, too. Trust me, I don’t want HIM to be President, either. Biden acts old, which is okay, because he IS old. But he’ll be 82 during next year’s campaign. Mitch McConnell is 81 right now and he keeps taking little mental vacations to the Bahamas right in the middle of sentences. I’m not making fun. These are the slings and arrows of age. But that’s the point: age. At 81.

I know the cons like to pretend Biden is in full-fledged Alzheimer’s and walking into walls but he isn’t and he doesn’t. Yet. Maybe never. It’s not automatic. But the likelihood increases with every year and a person can start suffering symptoms before others even become aware. I even know the country can function should the worst happen. We had a President with full blown Alzheimer’s in Ronald Reagan. The people around him (the deep state) took care of him and got things done. But can we agree, it wasn’t optimal?

So maybe Gavin positioning himself now isn’t such a poor idea. He only has until December 15 to register his candidacy, though, so, we’ll know soon…