Gail Collins: Bret, how do you feel about billionaires? Not personally — I’m sure some of your best friends are billionaires — but as presidential candidates. Ever since Michael Bloomberg started running, there’s been a lot of complaining about rich guys trying to buy the race. Does that worry you, or do you find people like Bloomberg and Tom Steyer to be, um, valuable additions?
Bret Stephens: I guess it depends on who the billionaires are, how they made their money, and what they’ve done with it. There’s a world of difference between someone like Mike Bloomberg — who came from relatively humble beginnings, made his fortune honestly, ran his businesses capably, devoted a significant amount of his life to public service and then gave billions away to great causes — and someone like Donald Trump, who did none of those things.
What about you?
Gail: Thank you for throwing in an attack on President Trump. Really, is there any topic that doesn’t offer some opportunity to snipe at our commander in chief? I notice he’s blaming energy-efficient light bulbs for his orange skin tone.
Bret: They use energy-efficient light bulbs on tanning beds now?
Gail: I’ll bet we could talk about the presidential complexion all day and the readers would be extremely happy to chime in and keep it going for another week. But of course we’re above that.
Bret: We are?
Gail: Back to billionaires: Even our truly high-quality mega-money-makers don’t have the kind of personality that gets you elected to high office. Bloomberg is a pretty good example. It’s true he made it as mayor but we New Yorkers have a recent history of electing unlovable people. Something about charisma makes us nervous.
Bret: Around here we look at our mayors the same way we look at our plumbers. Our question isn’t, “Do they inspire the better angels of our nature?” It’s “Can they get the smelly, dirty, necessary and don’t-ask-too-many-questions job done?” Not exactly the sort of qualities that translate easily to the national stage.
Gail: Yeah, the last thing we want is inspiring politicians. That’s what people go to “Hamilton” for.
Bret: When it comes to billionaires, you’re right: A talent for being a boss isn’t the same thing as a talent for being a leader. The skill set that goes into making oodles of money doesn’t necessarily equip you to inspire a country or know where to lead it. And spending decades as a modern-day Croesus puts you at risk of failing the biggest test every politician must face: The question of whether he or she understands the problems of ordinary people.
Gail: Or at least whether he or she is sensitive enough to pretend to understand the problems of ordinary people.
Bret: All that being said, most of our presidents have been wealthy, and some have been exceptionally so, including Jack Kennedy, Franklin Roosevelt and George Washington.
So I’d hate to rule billionaires out of the running simply on account of their bank accounts, and I think progressive Democrats are making a mistake by trying to disqualify billionaires from even running. Class warfare is a bad look.
Gail: One more question about the Democrats — and I admit I’m in impeachment avoidance. How would you rate the campaigns of your moderate faves? Joe Biden certainly didn’t have a great week last week, what with his yelling at the 83-year-old retired farmer. And Pete Buttigieg still hasn’t figured out how to win over black voters. This is going to be an election where the Democrat needs not just grudging acceptance from the party’s core supporters — they are going to need to be wildly enthusiastic and turn out in droves.
Bret: And Bloomberg called Cory Booker “very well spoken.” Then again, Amy Klobuchar seems to be gaining ground in Iowa, which is good news because I’ve always thought she was an underrated candidate.
Gail: That’s kinda her advantage. Democrats complain about the race, ticking off one disappointing candidate after another. Then someone says: “What about Amy Klobuchar?” And everyone goes: “Oh, huh. Yeah …”
Bret: As for Biden and Buttigieg, I guess I don’t see either of their supposed mistakes as all that damaging. In fact, I sort of think they’re commendable. Biden’s political brand is built around his authenticity and working-class affect, so why should he smooth-talk his way around a baldfaced insult from a voter about his fitness or his son?
Gail: Wait, wait, wait. Biden’s son got a humongous amount of money for a job for which he had no qualifications in a country where his father, the vice president, had a big official presence. When this comes up, Joe needs a better response than: “To hell with that, and I can beat you in push-ups.” But give me your Mayor Pete assessment.
Bret: O.K., you are absolutely right about Biden. He needs to hone an answer that makes the essential point: Hunter Biden’s job was a bad idea and an even worse look. But it was not an unlawful deed and the former vice president had nothing to do with it.
As for Buttigieg, you’re right that he needs to find a way to connect to core Democratic constituencies beyond people (like me) who thrill to his obvious intelligence and endearing personal affect. His experience is broad but it’s thin, and I get the skepticism about electing someone who runs a city about the size of my New York City neighborhood.
That said, I think it’s silly to fault him for the fact that he worked in the private sector and signed a nondisclosure agreement — a pledge he sought to honor until his former employer released him from it. I’ll assume nothing scandalous will come to light. In the meantime, I like the idea of a candidate who, you know, tries to keep his word.
Gail: Well, it was good that he didn’t just tell the reporter: “Screw you, buddy.” Guess our standards are beginning to dip a bit.
Bret: The bigger picture, though, is that I don’t think the Democratic field, as wide as it is, has a candidate with a clear path to victory to both the nomination and the general election. Which reminds me that we haven’t mentioned Kamala Harris dropping out of the race. What sort of epitaph would you write for her candidacy?
Gail: Here lies Kamala’s candidacy. Still available for high-profile committee hearings and vice-presidential nominations.
Does that seem fair?
Bret: Mine would be a little different: “Kamala in 20/20 hindsight: She failed to be bold and sounded like a scold.” In the meantime, I have a foreboding that Trump is going to win.
Gail: Stop! Stop! We haven’t even gotten to Iowa yet. Rudy Giuliani hasn’t shown us the documentary he’s been shooting on his version of the Ukraine scandal. (Hope it includes at least a couple of Martians.) Before the election, we may very well get to see the Trump taxes. Don Jr. and Eric may announce they’ve sold the rights to a Trump hotel to a wealthy war criminal. Cheer up. It’s the holiday season. Peace on earth and good will to everybody who isn’t a member of the Trump administration. Or his personal lawyer.
Bret: I have a bad feeling that Trump is to political scandal what “Typhoid Mary” Mallon was to typhus: He spreads it widely but is somehow immune to it himself.
Gail: Hey, I like that analogy.
Bret: Trump will be impeached and we will no doubt learn all sorts of scuzzy details regarding his family, his associates, their associates, and all of their associations. But at the end of the day, he’ll be acquitted in the Senate, possibly without a single Republican voting in favor of conviction, and maybe even with a Democrat or two voting for acquittal. And he’ll herald it as his most triumphant vindication yet.
In the meantime, unemployment is at 3.5 percent and may go even lower. And Democrats strike me as nearly as hostile to one another as they are to Trump. That’s no way to beat an incumbent who already enjoys a huge fund-raising advantage.
Gail: We’ll get over our hostilities when it’s down to Trump vs. X. Don’t you think? I predict even your worse-case-scenario Elizabeth Warren would start looking good to you if she’s the only alternative.
Bret: Not to me! And I’m the kind of reasonable (well, semi-reasonable) party-switching voter the Democratic nominee, whoever it ends up being, is going to need to attract in order to beat Trump. Please, Democrats, don’t make me wind up voting for Bill Weld just to salve my conscience and save my wallet. Nominate a moderate!
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