Greets, and welcome to Tuesday, May 12, 2026. It’s National Odometer Day, National Nutty Fudge Day, and National Fibromyalgia Awareness Day. It’s also Jewish American Heritage Month. Only 39 days until Summer.
I've heard that the 12th day of May
May be National Limerick Day
It may or may not be
I've somehow forgot be-
Cause these days my mind's gone astray.
1215: English barons serve an ultimatum on King John that eventually leads to the creation and signing of the Magna Carta.
1789: The Society of St. Tammany is formed by Revolutionary War soldiers. It later becomes an infamous group of NYC political bosses.
1908: Wireless Radio Broadcasting is patented by Nathan B. Stubblefield.
1932: The body of the kidnapped son of Charles Lindbergh is found in Hopewell, N.J.
1934: "Cocktails For Two" by Duke Ellington hits #1.
1937: Coronation of King George VI of Great Britain (and his other realms and territories beyond the sea) at Westminster Abbey, London.
1943: British Prime Minister Winston Churchill arrives in the U.S., speaks to Congress.
1965: The Rolling Stones record their smash hit single "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction."
1997: Tornado narrowly misses downtown Miami.
Birthdays today include: Florence Nightingale (revolutionized nursing during the Crimean War); Henry Cabot Lodge, statesman; Katharine Hepburn, actress (Adam's Rib, On Golden Pond); Gordon Jenkins, American arranger and orchestra leader (Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra); Julius Rosenberg (executed for espionage after he and his wife were convicted of passing secret radar, jet, and nuclear information to the Soviet Union); Yogi Berra, Baseball HOF catcher, coach and manager; Burt Bacharach, Grammy and Academy Award-winning composer; Henry Cosby, Motown songwriter, musician, and producer ("Tears of a Clown," "For Once In My Life"); Tom Snyder, television and radio interviewer (Tomorrow, 1973-82; The Late Late Show, 1995-99); George Carlin, comedian ("7 dirty words," AM & FM, Carwash); Ron Ziegler, White House press secretary for President Richard Nixon; Norman Whitfield, Motown songwriter and producer ("I Heard It Through the Grapevine," "Just My Imagination," "Papa Was A Rollin' Stone"); Billy Swan, country-rock singer-songwriter ("I Can Help"); James Purify, R&B singer ("I'm Your Puppet"); Steve Winwood, singer, songwriter, and musician (Spencer Davis Group - "Gimme Some Lovin'," Traffic - "The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys"; solo - "Higher Love," "While You See A Chance"); Billy Squier, rock singer-songwriter and guitarist ("The Stroke," “Everybody Wants You”); Greg Phillinganes, session and touring keyboardist and musical director (Stevie Wonder, Toto, Michael Jackson, David Gilmour); and Emilio Estevez, actor (Breakfast Club, Young Guns, Mighty Ducks).
Your birthday, too? Well, have a happy one.
* * *
A little early, perhaps, but just for fun, let's take a look at what the Democratic Party is working with, heading into 2028. I warn you, none of this is exactly inspiring. (Barf bags are in the storage on the back of the seat in front of you.)
We begin this parade of long shots with Gavin Newsom, who is currently the betting market favorite. This is the man who presided over California's spectacular managed decline — skyrocketing homelessness, businesses fleeing the state, some of the highest taxes and cost of living in the nation, and a budget deficit that would make a banana republic blush. He flushed $126 million down the drain on a high-speed rail project that still doesn't exist (lots of hype and endless delays, but zero operational track). Democrats want to do for the country what Newsom has done for California? Yeah, that's gonna sell.
Then there's Kamala “Giggles” Harris, who apparently hasn't gotten the memo that her 2024 campaign was one of the most expensive and least inspiring failures in all of modern political history. The big donors have already indicated that they're openly skeptical about writing those huge checks again for a candidate who couldn't close the deal despite every institutional advantage imaginable. While it’s true she says she's "not done," the voters declared her done in 2024. She still hasn’t gotten the message.
Pete Buttigieg has been barnstorming the country, microphone in hand, delivering withering attacks on Donald Trump. That is the totality of his resume. As Transportation Secretary, he became famous mostly for being AWOL during a national rail crisis and presiding over an aviation system in visible distress. Being the loudest anti-Trump voice may get him support among the “No Kings” crowd. But that’s about all. And even there, without paying them for their support as was done with the “No Kings” nonsense, he won’t even get that.
Josh Shapiro, the Pennsylvania governor, is perhaps the most competent name on the list and the one most capable of winning a general election — a fact that, alongside his being Jewish, will likely doom him among Democrats, who have made no effort of late to hide their anti-semitism. Assuming he made it through a primary, he might do fairly well in a general election, but he will never make it past his own party in the primaries. The party of “The Squad” will never allow it.
Andy Beshear, the Kentucky governor, is making the "electability" argument, saying that he's won three statewide elections in a state Trump carries by thirty points. That of itself is impressive. Thing is, that’s all he brings to the table, and it’s not going to sell in a general election. Elections he might win. Policy questions are well beyond his ability, as his rather mixed record there suggests. Economic stagnation, a near 16% poverty rate, an education system that produces one of the worst reading proficiency rates in the country, crumbling infrastructure, and nearly zero workforce development (only around 4% of jobs are in the STEM fields) suggest that he hasn’t a clue how to do anything but campaign. That junk ain’t gonna fly, Orville.
Cory Booker of New Jersey is best known of late for his recently staged marathon floor speech that got him fawning coverage in the leftist press. Thing is, anti-Trump theatrics are not a presidential platform to bring to a general election with over half of that electorate being Trump supporters. It might make a dent in the primaries for the far left, but that’s about it. That speech was in reality the start of his presidential campaign for 2028. Nobody, and I mean nobody, has gotten excited with his chances. And the more he talks, the less people are excited about him.
Wes Moore, the Maryland governor, brings a personal story, and being relatively young in a Democrat party whose leaders are increasingly octogenarian, that’s a decent enough calling card. He inherited a Maryland fiscal situation that has the state's residents and businesses increasingly unhappy. Maryland is also one of the biggest losers of population, as people find better places to live — ones they can actually afford. Trouble is, Moore has made those problems worse and accelerated the mass exodus. That’s not the makings of a successful presidential run.
Chris Murphy, Connecticut U.S. Rep., is so far to the left that he makes the progressive wing feel like the center. The Bernie Bros love the guy. Not many others, though, even within his own party. His singular legislative passion is gun control. Maybe important to the base, but toxicity that takes on a nuclear glow, in a general election outside of deep-blue Connecticut. Primary? Perhaps. General election? People like Murphy are a crippling liability.
Ruben Gallego of Arizona. Oh, boy — what a load of baggage. "Friend of Swalwell" is not the distinction you want leading your bio in a general election campaign. One gets the impression that any serious investigations of his exploits with the recently resigned California Rep. would not go well and would detract from his already questionable political future. I actually debated putting him on his list, itself an indication of two things: how thin the Democrat bench is, and how bad a candidate Gallego is.
Looking at this field as a whole, the conclusion is obvious. This is, without question, the weakest Democrat Party bench in memory. The party is already in the early stages of what I’ve labeled in these pages as a civil war. This bench is sure to ignite that into a full-fledged dumpster fire.
On one side, the AOC and Bernie Sanders faction — ideologically pure, energizing to the base, and reliably terrifying to the moderate and independent voters who actually decide general elections. On the other, the Newsom-Shapiro-Beshear wing, which offers a slightly more electable posture in the general, but lacks a coherent unifying message beyond “We’re not Donald Trump.”
Neither faction looks strong. Neither looks particularly ready for prime time on a national stage against a Republican Party that — whatever its own divisions — will be unified around the singular motivation of holding the White House. The Democrats' path to 2028 runs straight through a fractured primary (unless they decide to bypass it again, as they did in the previous cycle) and a field of individuals who, as primary candidates, will not gain the support of all the internal factions.
Related: So, How's That Lurch to the Left Going?
OK, I get it: It’s too early to be making pronouncements of this nature. And yes, things change. But I have to tell you that at this moment, it's hard to look at this field and see an obvious future president staring back. And I don't, at the moment, see that changing in time for 2028.
Thought of the Day: Why do we press harder on the remote when we know the batteries are dead?
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