I wanted to start the year on a lighter
note, bringing a blog to make you smile, if not laugh. Certainly, the thought
of a new front runner in 2020 has lightened my days in these times of Brexit,
Russian hegemony, Chinese hegemony and Trump shamelessness and megalomania.
My story relates to the 2020 election, which,
if we have not been blown up, will be the year of the Tokyo Olympics, the
European football championship and the American election for President. Who
will challenge Trump? I won’t speculate about the Republicans. Assuming Trump
survives in office - this is not exactly a shoo-in - it is unlikely that anyone
in his party would mount a serious challenge out of fear of the hereafter and
the political wilderness.
So I have looked at who might enter the
race as a Democrat? Hilary cannot be dismissed. Her recent tour promoting her
book, What Happened, has cleared the
decks for a 2020 run. I watched her appear on the Graham Norton Show (a late
night UK chat show) where I was left in little doubt she still hankered for
another four years in the White House. Bernie Sanders is still out there
promoting his socialist agenda. I wonder if he tells himself, “If Corbyn can do
it, why not me.” Well, Mr Sanders, Jeremy Corbyn is several years younger than
you, he hasn’t done it yet and middle-America does not do socialism. Kamala
Harris, the firebrand senator from California, will make a showing, as will
several others.
But it is the number one pick, recently listed
by The Washington Post who made me
LOL, which for us oldies stands for laugh out loud. Dwayne Johnson is a huge
human being in every sense. He is very tall and wide. He has become huge box
office at the cinema for his roles in adventure films. What does it matter that
he is no Shakespearian actor? He keeps the tills ringing whether in picture
houses or on Netflix.
Before the successful movie career,
Johnson was a professional wrestler, one of the biggest so-called superstars of
WWE, the World Wrestling Experience. Known as “The Rock”, Johnson became the
self-proclaimed People’s Champion, with an impressive arsenal of moves
including The People’s Eyebrow, the People’s Elbow and the Rock Bottom.
I don’t know about the wrestling angle but
there is precedent for a Hollywood actor to make it into the White House.
Ronald Reagan played up his acting angle, ensuring he was called “The Gipper”
by all and sundry, revising one of his roles. At the same time, he played down his
years of experience in politics. He was heavily involved in film trade union
politics as a Democrat before he moved into the Republican camp. Arnold
Schwarzenegger, the body builder turned guttural actor and married to a
Kennedy, made it to the Governor’s mansion in California as a Republican. I
wonder what his in-laws thought. There was a ground-swirl to have him run for
President until the proponents realised an Austrian born man did not qualify
for this particular role.
Dwayne Johnson is an engaging
conversationalist with a huge personality and would appeal to populist America.
He is a Latino, a bloc whose vote is of increasing importance. He says he is an
independent and that would have to change. But would America want or vote for another
non-politician to be in charge of the executive branch? Whatever you may feel
about Mr. Trump, he has upset almost every norm of Presidential politics, so if
Johnson is serious about a run, which itself is uncertain, the novice card will
not be much of a bullet in the hands of his opponents. However, Johnson has no
political experience whatsoever.
Nevertheless, if I have learned anything
about American politics, it is never write anyone off. Let’s assume Johnson
makes it to the White House. Would he end his inaugural address with one of his
famous wrestling sayings: “If you smell what The Rock is cooking!”
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