I'm getting a little nervous about Warren and find myself turning to trivia.

[LAS14]

For many months I've been excited about the possibility of a sea change in the face of climate change, which absolutely requires big thinking. I said "Go for broke." If we didn't have big change it was too late anyway. But now I have visions of Warren showing up with abysmal poll numbers in too many swing states (later in the process, not now). But with Trump's behavior in the last three weeks I think we really do have to avoid four more years.

Then I turn my mind to more "acceptable" candidates. I can see my decision turning on things like this: Buttigieg is my favorite, but he's too short. I do believe the shorter candidate has never won. It may be almost never, but pretty close. Maybe Trump would show up as a hulking awful bear and the tradition would break. I find Booker and O'Rourke's hyper-articulate manner of speech wearing. Biden is just aging before our eyes. I end up with Klobuchar or Harris (for whom the height thing would be irrelevant... I think).

It has come to this.

[left-of-center2012]

1. "Buttigieg is my favorite, but he's too short"

He's 5 feet 8 inches tall.

There have been 10 presidents who were 5'8" or shorter.

U.S. Presidents by height order
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heights_of_presidents_and_presidential_candidates_of_the_United_States#U.S._Presidents_by_height_order

[cwydro]

8. Thank you.

Unbelievable.

[cureautismnow]

2. Shrub is shorter than Al Gore and John Kerry.

And Romney is an inch taller than Barack Obama.

[LAS14]

11. I just now saw this and I'm glad I did!

I've always secretly taken the idea of height being a strong factor fairly seriously. I probably first heard it (is it a meme?) before those races. I take comfort from your post!!! Thanks!

[loyalsister]

4. If you want to go down that road....

In Buttigieg's favor, he is left handed

Over the past 50 yrs, Jimmy Carter is the right handed president who was not corrupt or dishonest. The only other righties were Nixon, W, and Trump. "Sinister people" is an oxymoron. Not all left handed presidents were good, but our best ones were and the worst have been right handed.
I haven't looked into the rest of them. The reason I know about Buttigieg is the guy who introduced him for his announcement pointed it out.

[Aaron Pereira]

5. Personally I'm confident but I've spoken w/ people who share your anxiety.

If Warren has trouble down the road and Biden is gone I think you can count on a well known Dem veteran getting in to the race later. Kerry, Clinton or maybe Bloomberg.

In the end we'll have a winning a candidate.

[LAS14]

6. Sherrod Brown? nt

[cwydro]

7. Too short???!

Wow.

[zackymilly]

9. Which one do you think is dreamy? n/t

[Blue_true]

10. I suggest cognac with a peppermint stick.

I don't drink alcohol, but people that do say that you can't beat that combination when in need of reenforcement.

[LAS14]

12. Excellent advice. Never tried it. It's now on my to-do list. :-)

[Gothmog]

13. Washington Post-Opinion Democrats cannot win in 2020 merely by turning out the base

Link to tweet

To begin with, 33 percent of voters say their vote in 2020 depends on whom the Democrats nominate. Of these, 61 percent are moderate and 54 percent identify as independent, while the rest are more inclined to identify as Democrats (21 percent vs. 15 percent) than Republicans. They are also younger, more likely to be Hispanic and more likely to have an education of high school or less. Thirty percent voted for Hillary Clinton, 18 percent voted for President Trump. We also know candidates’ position on issues is the most important factor (43 percent) as opposed to leadership experience or style.

Depending on which states, these “it depends on who the Democrats pick” voters could be critical. Moderate candidates (e.g., former vice president Joe Biden, Sen. Amy Klobuchar) might appeal to these voters, but a younger candidate (South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg) might excite them. One thing we know: These are not the college-educated white, super-progressive Democrats attracted to Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

In addition, there is a whole lot of soft Republican support. Fifty percent say they approve of Trump’s performance but that Trump could lose their support. This is quite different than the portrait of an immovable GOP base that one hears about. By contrast, only 15 percent of Democrats say they disapprove of Trump but that he could win them over. Weak Trump supporters include many college-educated voters (Trump draws only 36 percent of these) and female voters. In short, the right Democratic candidate could peel off some, albeit not a lot, of Republican support.

Finally, 54 percent put terrorism in their top three issues, including 51 percent of independents. While Democrats have chosen to focus on the international repercussions of the pullout of troops from Syria, freeing thousands of Islamic State fighters should be of major concern to a majority of voters.