A very good argument can be made that anyone elected as President

[MineralMan]

will end up mostly doing moderate things.

Even Donald Trump has failed to end the ACA. He doesn't get his freaking wall, either. If he can't do something in an executive order, he's stuck with whatever Congress will give him, and that's not much. He's still done an amazing amount of harm, though.

Our next President will probably be a Democrat. With 24 candidates in the primary race, we have plenty of choices of whom to support. But, here's the thing: Once the winner is elected, he or she will be faced with the reality that a President's power is limited. He or she will have to depend on Congress to fund things and pass laws.

Yes, the President can appoint judges and usually can count on them being confirmed, but not always. Yes, the President can issue Executive orders, and our new Democratic President will have to issue a bunch of them right away to undo Trump's orders.

But, when it comes down to substantive projects and proposals, there's still that Congressional thing.

If we elect a Democratic President who is farther to the left than a majority in Congress, he or she will have problems making proposals come to life. Congress is almost always somewhere around the center, even if one party has majorities in both houses. That's been Trump's stumbling block. It would be a stumbling block for a "Democratic Socialist" President, too. Unless Congress likes an idea, it's not going to happen, essentially.

There's something to be said for electing a Democratic President who has ideas that might actually get through Congress, I think. Someone who has earned respect among members of Congress, who seem to keep coming back again and again and again for decades. There's something to be said for a President who knows Congress intimately and has shaken hands with almost everyone sitting at desks on Capitol Hill.

Life's easier for Presidents who get along with Congress. More things happen. More stuff gets done.

Anyhow, one of the things I'm looking at in the current primary candidates is someone who fits that description. I think I've found one, so that's the candidate I'm supporting. We need to get some stuff done right away, beginning on January 20, 2021. There's going to be a helluva lot of work to do to undo Trump's nonsense.

Here's looking forward to that!

[DownriverDem]

1. The reason why

is that the country is not far left. I wish folks would get it.

[oldsoftie]

2. Poll after Poll shows it; year after year. But still we hear it.

[oldsoftie]

3. Accurate analysis even though some wont like it. And will therefore dismiss it!!

[customerserviceguy]

4. Well stated

That's especially true in regards to a "wealth tax" that would need a constitutional amendment to be legal. Getting two-thirds majorities in both houses of Congress and then a three-quarters majority of the states to back this is the functional definition of the impossible.

[brooklynite]

5. This is because most voters are conservative...

NOT ideological conservative (big C) but resistant to radical change. This is why moving to a public option is more palatable that moving all at once to single-payer.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

6. Trump's Supreme Court picks? I wouldn't call them "moderate".

"Moderation" might be a result of the 60-vote requirement for bills in the Senate. If that goes, moderation is out the window.