Elizabeth Warren for president? Four reasons she won't run in 2016
The buzz around Elizabeth Warren running in 2016 is rising 鈥� or perhaps reaching a crescendo. But there are at least four reasons why the Senator from Massachusetts won't run for president.
The buzz around Elizabeth Warren running in 2016 is rising 鈥� or perhaps reaching a crescendo. But there are at least four reasons why the Senator from Massachusetts won't run for president.
On Friday, Elizabeth Warren's 17-minute speech in Detroit to the Netroots Nation conference, a gathering of progressive activists, was reportedly interrupted by chants of "Run, Liz, Run!"
For months now, the Massachusetts Senator has traveled the country hawking her memoir, "A Fighting Chance," and more recently campaigning for other Democrats running for Congress. At every stop, she's been peppered with the question: Are you running for president? Would you challenge Hillary Clinton for the 2016 Democratic nomination?
Sen. Warren has consistently denied that she's running. But that hasn't stopped a grassroots group called "Ready 4 Warren," which launched its website this past week.
Despite all the buzz, here are four reasons Elizabeth Warren isn't likely to run for president in 2016.
1) Warren isn't interested.
Elizabeth Warren isn't behaving like a presidential candidate. She'd not taken some of the key steps, for example, that Barack Obama did when he was in the Senate and preparing to run. Her focus has been primarily on the work of the Senate, and she dodges reporters on Capitol Hill, Dana Millbank of the Washington Post notes:
2) Warren doesn't have the support.
A real liberal revolt in among Democrats hasn't materialized yet. A NBC/Marist poll released this past Thursday shows Hillary Clinton would crush her own party rivals in a primary race in New Hampshire and Iowa.
As The Christan Science Monitor's Peter Grier writes:
3) Warren isn't ready.
Sen. Warren has focused on domestic, not international, issues. Presidential (and vice presidential, right Sarah Palin?) candidates need to be able speak knowledgeable and credible on global issues. The freshman senator from Massachusetts is not on the Senate foreign affairs or military or intelligence oversight committees. Warren serves on the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs. She's on the Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP), and she serves as a member of the Senate Special Committee on Aging.聽
4) The Cherokee question.
Warren's 2012 campaign against Scott Brown for the Senate was nearly derailed by questions about her native American heritage and what role it played in her being hired at Harvard University.
As 海角大神 reported, Harvard listed her as a "minority."
If Warren ran, this issue would certainly resurface. While this alone isn't enough to keep her from running, it could be factor.