POLITICS-The Brown for President speculation is gaining steam. Old story, at least for me, I was on that speculation bandwagon early, as you’ll see below.
Just yesterday in the Los Angeles Times, veteran political reporter Mark Barabak wrote an article titled, Jerry Brown, urged to run for president, won’t rule out 2016 bid. The piece suggested that California’s rebound, Brown’s good national press and a long held desire of Jerry Brown’s to occupy the Oval Office might get him thinking about one more try for the biggest of all political brass rings.
Barabak put forth a possible platform for a Brown run when he wrote, “The governor has widely touted California’s comeback and his record as a model for the rest of the country and, especially, a dysfunctional Washington, D.C.”
Barabak also conjectured that such a run against presumptive frontrunner Hillary Rodham Clinton would not be a problem since Brown is not on the friendliest terms with the Clintons having challenged Bill all the way to the Democratic Convention in 1992.
Two weeks ago on this site, regular contributor Joe Mathews also attempted to throw Brown’s hat into the ring.
Mathews wrote: “In his late in life return to politics, Brown has made a habit of repeating himself – first to statewide office (Secretary of State in the ‘70s, a.g. in the aughts) and then to the governorship. At this point, another run for president is the next logical step.”
There was another suggestion made along these lines — but you have to go back over a year to find it. The comment was made by me during a post 2012 election conference hosted by the California Chamber of Commerce.
Here’s how I put it at the end of a Fox and Hounds article I wrote:
One final, lighter note: standing around at a reception at the CalChamber event, I said to Seema Mehta of the LA Times that given the governor’s success, the fact he likely could win re-election easily as we look at the landscape now, and if, an important if, the economy comes back, Brown might consider another try for the presidency in 2016 even at age 78. Mehta tweeted the comment and the governor’s top political aide, Steve Glazer, standing with us just rolled his eyes!
The economy is coming back, Brown is the odds-on favorite to win re-election, and the governor has been crowned a success by the mainstream media. All the pieces are in place.
The real test: Is Steve Glazer still rolling his eyes over the possibility?
(Joel Fox is the Editor of Fox & Hounds … where this column first appeared … and President of the Small Business Action Committee.)
-cw
CityWatch
Vol 11 Issue 102
Pub: Dec 20, 2013