A boost for Haley?
Does DeSantis’ refusal offer any hope to Nikki Haley — David Newberger
This is like asking if the decline of the Mets – one of baseball’s top teams last year – gives any hope to the Washington Nationals (currently the worst team in the National League, but now only 6.5 games behind the Mets!). I suppose on some level it must be good news for the Nats, but the Mets weren’t really their problem. At this point, Ms. Haley isn’t clearly running any faster than Tim Scott, Chris Christie, or Mike Pence. Ron DeSantis isn’t really her problem.
And Asa?
I’d like to hear your views on how Asa Hutchinson’s candidacy could proceed. —Merideth Tomlinson
WHO? I’m kidding, of course (he’s the former governor of Arkansas), but he’s going to have to find a way to get out of obscurity in a big field. I think he needs to star in the debates to even earn a glance from most voters. I’m not sure if you should count on it, but you never know.
Books by candidates
I’ve said before that I don’t read books by aspiring presidential candidates. Is that always a good idea?
I was interested in your description of how you prepare when evaluating candidates. What you’re doing clearly makes sense, EXCEPT you immediately reminded me of how in 2008 I decided to support Barack Obama. I didn’t think he was a strong candidate, but he was an interesting person, so I read “Dreams From My Father” … and became a huge Obama fan! I imagine I’m not the only voter to have had this experience. Of course, it is unlikely that anyone will read a candidate’s book unless they have some interest in that person. —Angie Boyter
When I wrote that I don’t read a book by a presidential candidate, I mainly thought of the genre of political books written by someone who was about to become president. These books often interweave biographical details, policy proposals and a political message into a preview of an upcoming campaign. They go largely unread, but they provide an excuse for TV producers to book a presidential hope on their shows. Mr. Obama’s 2006 book, “The Audacity of Hope,” falls into this category.
Why don’t I want to read such a book? I want to know what message a candidate emphasizes in speeches, advertisements and interviews, not the one that makes a 100,000 word book.
Your experience with “Dreams From My Father” – a literary autobiography – is very different. The book was widely read and its content differed from what Obama talked about during the campaign. This is quite unusual; JD Vance’s “Hillbilly Elegy” is the only recent example that comes to mind of such a thing. Maybe that’s a case where there’s a better case for reading the book.
