In the aftermath of last night’s too-long debate, and in a sane world, most of the aspirants would bow out gracefully. It is clear at least half have zero chance of becoming their party’s nominee.
And yet that probably won’t yet happen in this less-than-sane world we actually inhabit. Running for the nomination has become a way for some to amp up their name recognition, elbow their way onto the world stage.
I write “for some” as it doesn’t work for everybody who tries it. Take the 2016 Republican field as an example. It worked for Rubio and Carson, not for Jeb Bush and John Kasich, was okay for Cruz but not for Fiorina, yes for Huckabee, no for Christie. In other words, it is a risky strategy with I’d guess more losers than winners, which is largely true for politics in general.
People have speculated Williamson and Gabbard may get TV deals out of this campaign, which at least Williamson would view as a decent payout. Exposure is doing Klobuchar, Yang, Booker, O’Rourke and Castro no favors. The more we see of them, the less we like them.
