The Search for the next Obama

[Bomster]

We don’t need an Obama. We need a damn honest politician for once.

[Progressive Pessimist]

It's never going to happen and the Democratic Party needs to stop obsessing over it. Obama's electoral prowess and the circumstances involved in them will never be replicated. Thankfully Biden showed that Democrats can still win the presidency even in spite of that.

[Real Texan Politics]

Maybe AOC???

But then again she only appeals to one slice of the democratic pie which is the young progressive ACAB pronouns in bio eat the rich crowd.

Obama at the very least could appeal to many more people and even some republicans here and there.

[MargieCat]

If only Julian Castro were a bit more charismatic.

He could be the Latino Obama.

[pbrower2a]

The Republicans need to find someone with an Obama-like character. All that kept Obama from being a fine conservative President was that he wasn't a political conservative.

[Lincoln Republican]

No

Obama is one of a kind

[MATTROSE94]

Maybe John Fetterman, Raphael Warnock, or Jon Ossoff? They are the rising stars in the Democratic Party and would be the candidates to beat if they win higher offices.

[pbrower2a]

No

Obama is one of a kind

All Presidents are sui generis. Such is so true that I see Dwight Eisenhower, despite huge dissimilarities in curricula vitae and a sixteen-year difference in age, as most similar in temperament and effectiveness as President. Someone has to be most similar to Obama! Just look at an overlay between Obama and Eisenhower elections. They won much the same states despite being in different Parties. Add to this, one almost never sees anyone praising one and not the other as President. 

[MargieCat]

Michelle Obama could easily have the presidency if she wanted it. Biden even said he would have love to have her as a VP.

She has no desire to enter politics. She didn't even want Barack to run.

[Motorcity]

This is kind of like Republicans looking for the new Reagan.

Trump is the next Reagan

Actually, he went further than Reagan

No previous Republican has been as beloved (cultish) than Trump. And no Republican since Reagan has expanded his base with Democrats (WWC and minorities) like Trump

Democrats pretending Trump doesnt have the same appeal as Reagan are kidding themselves

[Motorcity]

We need the next FDR at this point.


EDIT: And ninjaed by GoTfan.

Biden was our best bet at a new FDR. No other Democrat is as acceptable to Republicans as Biden.  At one point he was polling ahead in Texas! Had the polls from early Oct been right, Biden easily could have been the next FDR.

-Imagine the 413 nut map
-Biden being a few points shy in Missouri, Alaska, and Montana
-Democrats winning senate seats in AZ, CO, ME, NC, MT, GA, SC, KS, and IW
-Democrats expanding their house majorities
-Flipping state houses in TX, FL, NC, AZ, MN, PA, WI, and MI

Biden would be able to....

-New Voting Rights Act
-Public Option
-Free college
-Student loan forgivness
-Expand welfare and foodstamps
-Expand education funding and teacher pay
-Expand the Supreme Court
-Statehood for DC and Puerto Rico
-Larger stimulus
-Anti gerrymandering act
-Immigration reform
-Infrastructure Act

[Red Wall]

Both dems and reps have an unhealthy obsession to find candidates similar to the presidents they like the most but forget most of the the president candidates are insipid figures who are a good fit with certain parts of the electorate and a bad fit with others (regardless if they win or lose).

If they are good fits with certain demos even better. Obama  was perfect for the midwest but the average dem candidate performs like John Kerry or Al Gore in the region therefore they need a next Obama because Trump flipped the same states Obama was so strong at. Reagan conquered the then dem leaning wwc and was a force in the suburbans therefore Republicans kept searching for Reagan 2.0 because Bill Clinton brought the wwc voters back (and Perot stole some for him too) and made inroads in the suburbs. Ignoring Obama was a terrible fit for southern whites and Reagan did worse in his 1984 landslide than in 1980 in many cities. Difference is having such weaknesses didn't cost them EVs.

[R.P. McM]

There isn't going to be another Obama. We just need someone with charisma, progressive policies, and a way of talking to people. If our base gets too angry, though, we'll end up with a Democratic version of Trump.

Nonsense. I'm pretty angry and pretty radical. I won't support a Democratic version of Trump, however. What I will support is a Democratic candidate who takes the necessary steps to permanently end GOP minority rule. Even if that means I no longer live in the same country as the residents of AL, OK, etc. (big loss /s.)  

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Obama made it really hard for there to be another Obama. People are going to be much less trusting of some empty suit promising "hope and change" that the establishment likes.

[Crane]

The next Obama will be even more of a progressive, because the thing that inspires turnout like he did is inspiring for the future. AOC is a good candidate even though she also inspires near-hysterical hatred from the Gmacs of the of the world who are really offended by the thought of dirty poors having access to doctor's appointments, plus the Republicans really do hate her, but they obviously hated Obama too. I'm not sure if that's what she wants to do, though. She may very well follow Pelosi's career trajectory and be speaker in 20-30 years. Who knows? But it's not going to be some retread or random NPC that people pick because he/she checks the right demographic boxes. People aren't going to vote for Castro because they're Latino and they're supposed to. (even though he would make a good president)  They're going to vote for a politician who speaks to them and has policy proposals that address their problems. Tio Bernie was hugely popular with Latinos for that reason, even though he's a New York Jew representing Vermont.

[Former Dean Phillips Supporters for Haley (I guess???!?) 👁️]

Both dems and reps have an unhealthy obsession to find candidates similar to the presidents they like the most but forget most of the the president candidates are insipid figures who are a good fit with certain parts of the electorate and a bad fit with others (regardless if they win or lose).

If they are good fits with certain demos even better. Obama  was perfect for the midwest but the average dem candidate performs like John Kerry or Al Gore in the region therefore they need a next Obama because Trump flipped the same states Obama was so strong at. Reagan conquered the then dem leaning wwc and was a force in the suburbans therefore Republicans kept searching for Reagan 2.0 because Bill Clinton brought the wwc voters back (and Perot stole some for him too) and made inroads in the suburbs. Ignoring Obama was a terrible fit for southern whites and Reagan did worse in his 1984 landslide than in 1980 in many cities. Difference is having such weaknesses didn't cost them EVs.

Yeah, whoever is the next Obama probably won't be a candidate that anyone thinks of as "the next Obama."

However, I would say that these sorts of Presidents (Kennedy, Reagan, Obama, and maybe to lesser extents Bill Clinton and Trump) do have one common characteristic - charisma. It seems like it is usually a substantial advantage to nominate a candidate who is charismatic and can get at least some people excited or interested. Even if some people dislike them, it seems like the fact that others like them normally outweighs that. If you just want to win a Presidential election, then it seems like you can do a lot worse than to simply figure out whoever seems to be the most charismatic, and nominate that person (that this is the case is not really the best thing for policy, but that is another matter). Charisma seems to be very important for appealing to low information/sporadic voters, and those low information/sporadic voters are especially crucial now because since polarization is so strong, one of the only ways to get an advantage is to pull over more low information/sporadic voters to your side based on personality/charisma. Personality/charisma seems to be more important than qualifications, ideas, policy, or anything else.

I would say that Trump also was charismatic, albeit in a different way certainly than Obama. I always found him to be sort of amusing/funny, in the sense that he would say ridiculous things and that is sort of amusing in terms of the absurdity (especially when e.g. denying he did/said something that he just did/said). I thought that Trump could have been a stand up comedian, of not for the seriousness of the danger he posed by taking the Presidency so un-seriously.

[Crumpets]

We don't need a next Obama. We need someone who can win an election and then implement policy without needing 60+ Senate seats.

[Bomster]

This is kind of like Republicans looking for the new Reagan.

Trump is the next Reagan

Actually, he went further than Reagan

No previous Republican has been as beloved (cultish) than Trump. And no Republican since Reagan has expanded his base with Democrats (WWC and minorities) like Trump

Democrats pretending Trump doesnt have the same appeal as Reagan are kidding themselves

I guess Trump is a flanderized version of Reagan and he couldn't benefit from Reagan's Cold Warrior stance.

[R.P. McM]

We don't need a next Obama. We need someone who can win an election and then implement policy without needing 60+ Senate seats.

Not gonna happen. What we need is someone who rejects the notion that CA and WY deserve equal Senate representation. Because until that happens, good luck addressing a looming crisis like climate change.

[ProgressiveModerate]

Beto had real potential, but he messed it up.

[politics_king]

The Democratic party should not be looking for the next Obama. They should be looking for an authentic candidate that fits the voter's values the best without pandering to corporations. The new candidate should also be in touch with the younger community, which is where the party's strength lies, and should NOT alienate whole swaths of the United States.

Another Obama is not needed. What is needed, is another good candidate who is connected with the people.

Her name is AOC.

[pppolitics]

The Democratic party should not be looking for the next Obama. They should be looking for an authentic candidate that fits the voter's values the best without pandering to corporations. The new candidate should also be in touch with the younger community, which is where the party's strength lies, and should NOT alienate whole swaths of the United States.

Another Obama is not needed. What is needed, is another good candidate who is connected with the people.

Her name is AOC.

No, it isn't.

AOC doesn't have any charisma.

[OSR stands with Israel]

This is kind of like Republicans looking for the new Reagan.

Trump is the next Reagan

Actually, he went further than Reagan

No previous Republican has been as beloved (cultish) than Trump. And no Republican since Reagan has expanded his base with Democrats (WWC and minorities) like Trump

Democrats pretending Trump doesnt have the same appeal as Reagan are kidding themselves

Trump didnt go further than Reagan lol, Reagan won two terms with landslide margins lol

[xavier110]

The Democratic party should not be looking for the next Obama. They should be looking for an authentic candidate that fits the voter's values the best without pandering to corporations. The new candidate should also be in touch with the younger community, which is where the party's strength lies, and should NOT alienate whole swaths of the United States.

Another Obama is not needed. What is needed, is another good candidate who is connected with the people.

Her name is AOC.

No, it isn't.

AOC doesn't have any charisma.

She's the ......most charismatic person in the party today and I am not a huge fan policy-wise

[Illini Moderate]

If only Julian Castro were a bit more charismatic.

He could be the Latino Obama.

No one advocating for decriminalizing the border could be considered "Obama". Part of Obama's success came from the fact that he knew how to articulate a bold and hopeful vision without taking positions that are just completely out of touch with what the vast majority of the electorate believes.