The US is a large country with more than 300mn people. There would seem to be an abundant supply of ambitious, fresh hopefuls for the White House. But right now, the 2016 race looks like a tired re-run despite Mitt Romney opting out of it.
Romney, the 2012 Republican candidate for president, said yesterday that he would not make another bid for the White House.
“After putting considerable thought into making another run for president, I’ve decided it is best to give other leaders in the party the opportunity to become our next nominee,” Romney told his financial supporters and party leaders in a conference call.
But on the Democratic side, expectation is still growing that Hillary Clinton - the former first lady, senator and secretary of state - will enter the race after losing the party’s nomination in 2008 to President Barack Obama. Given her towering stature, that possibility has sucked most of the air out of the room for other potential Democratic candidates.
Yet another familiar surname - former Florida governor Jeb Bush - announced late last year that he was “actively” exploring a presidential run, a move that could propel a third member of the Bush political dynasty into the White House.
Then there are Rand Paul, Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum who could make bids, with an appeal to the party’s arch-conservative faction.
“Overall, 2016 is shaping up to be the year of the retreads: the reduce, reuse and recycle election,” Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank wrote the other day.
If Hillary Clinton or Jeb Bush wins the White House in 2016 and serves a second term, it would mean the two families would have occupied the White House for 28 of the 36 years since 1988, Milbank calculated.
It does seem puzzling for a country founded on rebellion against monarchic rule. Even Barbara Bush, wife and mother of two ex presidents, considers the prospect absurd.
“If we can’t find more than two, three families to run for higher office, that’s silly,” she said last year. “I refuse to accept that this great country isn’t raising other wonderful people.”
Maybe Chris Christie, governor of New Jersey who has been travelling the country and is seen as a Republican moderate? Or Senators Marco Rubio of Florida or Ted Cruz of Texas, darlings of the extreme conservative wing? Those would be fresh faces for Republicans. But would they stand a chance against Hillary Clinton?
In any case, what the Republicans have going for them is that they have a large field of candidates - one that is more qualified than during the last selection process in 2012.
On the Democratic side, it’s an open question who will dare take on the role of challenging Hillary Clinton in the party primary elections - if she chooses to run. The Clinton family, after all, is one of the most powerful political families in the country.
