Keller @ Large: Drop The Fiction Of Elizabeth Warren For President
BOSTON (CBS) - OK, Washington press corps, I'm begging you – PLEASE stop flogging the nonsensical, almost-surely false notion of Sen. Elizabeth Warren entering the 2016 presidential race.
I tried reasoning with them a few months back by pointing out the Atlantic Ocean-sized gulf between the experience and credentials of former First Lady of a state and the nation, former senator, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and those of first term Sen. Warren.
But that didn't deter the chattering Beltway classes from peddling their fantasy of a Warren challenge to Clinton, and I get it, it's the dead of summer, and they're desperate to create a Democratic contest where there may in fact not be one.
None of this is the fault of Sen. Warren, who has repeatedly denied any interest in running. And while she is understandably pocketing the side benefits of the speculation, such as enhanced fundraising and media attention, Warren would have to be nuts to run.
Her Senate seat is the perfect forum for Warren to pursue her agenda as a speech-maker and advocate for her view of capitalism's excesses and the political system's failures.
A presidential candidacy might well be the worst possible forum.
She would suddenly have to address a range of topics far beyond her expertise, with a universe of Clinton supporters who currently admire Warren eager to pounce on her every misstep. She would have to oversee a huge campaign operation, another task she lacks experience in.
And she might well wind up damaging the prospects of the party nominee to the benefit of the Republicans, the worst possible outcome from Warren's point of view.
So please, let's drop the fiction of Warren for President.
Until, of course, it becomes non-fiction.
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