With her presidential bubble rapidly expanding, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) isn’t wavering in her insistence that she isn’t running for president — but she also won’t go ahead and say she will not run for president.
Her evasions seem sure to keep the political class yapping.
NPR’s Steve Inskeep had a little fun with the ongoing speculation about Warren’s presidential aspirations in a Monday morning interview with the senator, asking her about the progressive groups that have teamed up to draft her into the 2016 race, presumably against Hillary Clinton.
Warren said, as she and her office always do when these questions get asked, that she isn’t running for president. But when Inskeep observed that she was speaking in the present tense, not exactly a Sherman-esque denial, Warren didn’t budget.
“You’re not putting a ‘never’ on that,” Inskeep noted after pressing her a couple times.
“I am not running for president,” Warren said. “You want me to put an exclamation point at the end?”
The full exchange is below.
Sen. Warren, as you must know, that even as you were fighting over this in the Senate, there was a group called Ready for Warren that wants you to run for president, that released a letter signed by more than 300 people who describe themselves as former Obama campaign workers and staffers and aides. They want you to run. What do you say to them?
I’m, I’m not running for president. That’s not what we’re doing. We had a really important fight in the United States Congress just this past week. And I’m putting all my energy into that fight and to what happens after this.
Would you tell these independent groups, “Give it up!” You’re just never going to run.
I told them, “I’m not running for president.”
You’re putting that in the present tense, though. Are you never going to run?
I am not running for president.
You’re not putting a “never” on that.
I am not running for president. You want me to put an exclamation point at the end?
At some point the press will point out she didn’t say “Cross my heart and hope to die!”
So it’s still not a complete denial. Especially if she doesn’t add “Stick a needle in my eye!”
Simultaneously, the MSM is building up a Jeb Bush candidacy to fuel their precious “horse race” punditry. Feh, pooey. I am a big fan of Elizabeth Warren and would vote for her for sure. But seriously folks. On what planet are the “progressives” living that think she could actually get elected POTUS is the current climate we live in in these United States? Not to mention in the downdraft of Obama fatigue? The right-wing noise machine would have a field day with her and she would end up being a George McGovern or Michael Dukakis for our time–maybe even a Howard Dean. Hillary Clinton, warts and all, is at least electable, unless the Democrats choose to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, yet again. Nothing would surprise me at this point.
Yup. Just like the last time she ran.
Inevitable.
One has to wonder about some of the idiots who call themselves “journalists”. This fellow is not reporting news, he is making it. No surprise here: he has lots of colleagues who do the same.
The Mediacracy-fueled silliness about Elizabeth Warren is vexing on certain levels because of its, well, silliness, but silly is far from the worst thing the Media usually does.
The good thing about the silliness is that it gives Warren a bigger soapbox from which to form and spread her message about the need to dilute the power of big corporations, and to continue to enact sensible regulations to prevent speculation bubbles and fiscal disasters, as well as preventing fraud against consumers.
So as long as the silliness keeps the spotlight on Senator Warren, I say “Silly away, Sillies!”
The Preznitdental Elections are coming, and we gotta lot of seats we need to win back for Preznit Hillary (gimme Turkee, pleaze, Preznit Hillary!). The more Warren is out there, forming a strong message of keeping business honest, the better we will do.
P.S. I disagree with Senator Warren on some peripheral issues, but overall, she’s a great asset to our side.