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By Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images.

As self-evident as it may seem to liberals that the Trump presidency has been a disaster and is doomed to defeat, the daily cycle of scandal and outrage that dominates social media is no substitute for a viable presidential candidate. And the Democratic Party, it seems, has yet to learn the key lessons of Hillary Clintons failure in 2016. While Donald Trump has already filed paperwork for his re-election campaign, Democrats are facing a distressingly shallow bench of potential challengers. Trump may be flirting with an all-time low approval rating, but many of the politicians maneuvering to challenge him are not necessarily in a much stronger position.

There are the usual buzzed-about hopefuls, of course, that remain beloved on the left, including Joe Biden, who just launched his own political action committee, and Elizabeth Warren, whose progressive credentials are unimpeachable. But Biden would be 78 by the time he would assume the presidency, and Warrenwhether or not you believe herhas said repeatedly that she isnt running. The remaining names on the 2020 shortlist, meanwhile, are a pretty motley crewand sure to leave a bad taste in many liberals mouths.

Axioss Mike Allen surveys the field:

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe: He has talked extensively with friends and advisers about running. The guy has boundless energy, ambition and access to money and the personality and love of the game to withstand the grind and glare of politics.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.): She has met privately with top party officials and just hit California to raise money and her profile. Make no mistake: She wants to run. But that doesn't mean she will.

Mark Cuban: He considers himself a smarter, better-looking and more authentic version of Trump. He has coin, ambition and comfort in his own skin. Of all the CEO/celebrities, he's the most likely to plunge into the shark tank of politics.

Rahm Emanuel: He has not given any signals he'll run, but friends tell us the Chicago mayor thinks he has a better read than the others on what it takes for a Democrat to win in today's America. That said, he runs a city with huge murder and money problems.

There are other names on Allens list, too, such as Senators Kamala Harris and Cory Booker. Some names, like Gillibrand and Harris, may have some promise. But the rest may as well have been grown in a lab by Republican scientists in order to guarantee a Democratic defeat. McAuliffea major fundraiser with longstanding ties to the Clintonshas a storied history of sketchy business dealings, was investigated by the F.B.I. for receiving $120,000 from a Chinese-owned business, and aided the campaign of the wife of a F.B.I. official investigating Hillary Clinton. Cuban is a billionaire with few ties to progressive politics whose Trump-lite demeanor should come with its own trigger warning. Emanuel has made few friends by clashing with liberal activists, the Chicago teachers union, and Black Lives Matter. Booker is, to some, an inveterate opportunist whose reach exceeds his grasp. (Then there is the matter of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who remains a villain in progressive circles despite his recent attempts to shift left.)

After an election in which nearly half of Democratic voters were galvanized by a radical progressive firebrand in Bernie Sanders, and subsequently left disillusioned by Clintonism, the left seems to be stumbling toward another electoral shellacking as the proto-primary field fills up with potential candidates reflecting some of the Democratic Partys worst instincts.

Link:
Are Democrats Trying to Lose in 2020? - Vanity Fair