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Zuckerberg lacks the charisma. His run will be more Carson than Trump. He severely lacks the oratory skills of Obama, the fiery commitment to economic justice

Zuckerberg lacks the charisma. His run will be more Carson than Trump. He severely lacks the oratory skills of Obama, the fiery commitment to economic justice of Bernie, the decades of government experience of Hillary, or the Barnum-esque showmanship of Trump. Trump is the first non-stateman to win, and he did it by keeping the cameras on him at all times, and competing against a wide field of primary candidates that split the vote. And also by appealing to some base desires that Republicans have only dog-whistled in the past. And the left is much less friendly to a billionaire with eyes on purchasing the presidency than the right. Why would anyone pick Zuckerberg in 2020 when they could pick someone like Warren or Booker? I'm not saying he won't run, but I think it's delusional to think he can win a primary, let alone the presidency.

ithinkinstereo 10y ago
1) He has name-recognition. This carries you very far. Who doesn't know Zuck? He even had a hit movie made about him. 2) He has money. Doesn't need to waste time raising funds. He can also take Trump's line and say he is independent, not in the pockets of big money doners 3) He has access to possibly, the best voter database, and a platform to communicate and drive home his messaging (remember, some say that Trump's win was due to massive FB analytics and targeted ad campaigns) 4) He is likely already in bed with the "establishment". I'm sure he has deep connections to the intelligence agencies and local, state, and federal government. Not to mention of course, the media. 5) He is young and likely more appealing to the millennial generation, who will be more deeply entrenched in society by the time he runs. Certainty more appealing than say Booker or Warren. > And the left is much less friendly to a billionaire with eyes on purchasing the presidency than the right. Why would anyone pick Zuckerberg in 2020 when they could pick someone like Warren or Booker? Warren and Booker are pretty discredited IMO. It'll be hard for Warren to win the Bernie votes, given her disloyalty and lack of action during the primaries. I had such high hopes for her, but she really let the power and possibility of a presidential run corrupt her. Her who shtick was this fearless, independent, populist. That image came crashing down this election. If she would have publicly backed Bernie early on, he might have taken the nomination. It's obvious to all that she only backed HRC to kiss-ass to the establishment and curry favors for either a VP nom or to secure her "successor" status to Hillary. Compare her actions to someone like Gabbard. Booker is similar discredited, given his non-transparent lobbying for a variety of corporate elites. The main problem for Zuck is his young, rich, tech, Jew shtick makes me persona non-grata for alot of blue collar voters in the key swing states. But who knows, the next generation of those voters, who grew up on FB/Instagram, may not find him so unappealing as their parents. I think he has a pretty good shot. I def agree that his main weakness is his lack of charisma and perceived fakeness / always-scheming persona, but thats something that can be changed with the key handlers, messaging, and media campaigns.
- michaelchisari 10y ago
  > Warren and Booker are pretty discredited IMO. I disagree, but most importantly, I strongly disagree that they're so discredited that a controversial billionaire can waltz in and capture their voters.
  - ithinkinstereo 10y ago
    I could see an argument for why Warren is viable, but why Booker? That dude is solidly corrupt - maybe the most corrupt establishment democrat today!
    - michaelchisari 10y ago
      He represents the DLC/Establishment wing of the Democrats. Now I swing much closer to Warren, but I'm not going to pretend that there aren't people in the party who agree with his centrist politics. He wouldn't have my vote, but he would have a lot of peoples. What do you think Zuckerbergs positions on the issues are? Specifically the things that the left would have a problem with Cory Booker on (charter schools, the medicine import vote, corporate donations, etc)?
      - ithinkinstereo 10y ago
        > He represents the DLC/Establishment wing of the Democrats. Now I swing much closer to Warren, but I'm not going to pretend that there aren't people in the party who agree with his centrist politics. He wouldn't have my vote, but he would have a lot of peoples. That's a fair point. I just don't see him being the one to unite the party between the establishment dems and the bernie dems. The bernie supporters I know absolutely hate the guy. > What do you think Zuckerbergs positions on the issues are? Specifically the things that the left would have a problem with Cory Booker on (charter schools, the medicine import vote, corporate donations, etc)? I think Zuck will be a bit of political chameleon. On the issues you cite specifically: Charter = prob pro charter. Def pro education reform and experimenting with new education models. He's already pretty involved in this via The Primary School that he setup with his wife. I'm not so sure he'll be bullish on charters, but he'll def push for more technology reform in schools (think infusion of more data analytics, student self-directed learning via online resources, etc.) Medicine Import = no clue, but def pro medical reform. His wife will drive his policy positions here and lend him alot of credibility in this arena. Corporate Donations = anti Citizens United and pro campaign finance reform. He's incentivized here to reform the funding/donation scene, since it'll only weaken his foes if it makes it harder to amaze/pool funds. Unfortunately whatever positions he adopts here will prob further entrench billionaire-influence in American politics. The critical asset I see here is he'll be able to unite alot of the big tech billionaires behind him: Cook, Bezos, Page and Brin, etc. By the time he runs, these tech companies will likely completely own American media. It'll be an uphill battle for an opposing candidate to fight this.
Crito 10y ago
Zuck lacks more than just charisma. He lacks social competence. He'd be more like Jeb than Carson. He falls to pieces when he gets flustered, worse than most awkward autistic teenagers in front of a crowd of judgmental peers. Shit, Jeb might just make Zuck look smooth.
user5994461 10y ago
Last but not least: Trump didn't have a credible opponent. That certainly played a big help in his election. We don't know in advance who Zuck could be up against.

ithinkinstereo 10y ago

1) He has name-recognition. This carries you very far. Who doesn't know Zuck? He even had a hit movie made about him. 2) He has money. Doesn't need to waste time raising funds. He can also take Trump's line and say he is independent, not in the pockets of big money doners 3) He has access to possibly, the best voter database, and a platform to communicate and drive home his messaging (remember, some say that Trump's win was due to massive FB analytics and targeted ad campaigns) 4) He is likely already in bed with the "establishment". I'm sure he has deep connections to the intelligence agencies and local, state, and federal government. Not to mention of course, the media. 5) He is young and likely more appealing to the millennial generation, who will be more deeply entrenched in society by the time he runs. Certainty more appealing than say Booker or Warren. > And the left is much less friendly to a billionaire with eyes on purchasing the presidency than the right. Why would anyone pick Zuckerberg in 2020 when they could pick someone like Warren or Booker? Warren and Booker are pretty discredited IMO. It'll be hard for Warren to win the Bernie votes, given her disloyalty and lack of action during the primaries. I had such high hopes for her, but she really let the power and possibility of a presidential run corrupt her. Her who shtick was this fearless, independent, populist. That image came crashing down this election. If she would have publicly backed Bernie early on, he might have taken the nomination. It's obvious to all that she only backed HRC to kiss-ass to the establishment and curry favors for either a VP nom or to secure her "successor" status to Hillary. Compare her actions to someone like Gabbard. Booker is similar discredited, given his non-transparent lobbying for a variety of corporate elites. The main problem for Zuck is his young, rich, tech, Jew shtick makes me persona non-grata for alot of blue collar voters in the key swing states. But who knows, the next generation of those voters, who grew up on FB/Instagram, may not find him so unappealing as their parents. I think he has a pretty good shot. I def agree that his main weakness is his lack of charisma and perceived fakeness / always-scheming persona, but thats something that can be changed with the key handlers, messaging, and media campaigns.

michaelchisari 10y ago
> Warren and Booker are pretty discredited IMO. I disagree, but most importantly, I strongly disagree that they're so discredited that a controversial billionaire can waltz in and capture their voters.
- ithinkinstereo 10y ago
  I could see an argument for why Warren is viable, but why Booker? That dude is solidly corrupt - maybe the most corrupt establishment democrat today!
  - michaelchisari 10y ago
    He represents the DLC/Establishment wing of the Democrats. Now I swing much closer to Warren, but I'm not going to pretend that there aren't people in the party who agree with his centrist politics. He wouldn't have my vote, but he would have a lot of peoples. What do you think Zuckerbergs positions on the issues are? Specifically the things that the left would have a problem with Cory Booker on (charter schools, the medicine import vote, corporate donations, etc)?
    - ithinkinstereo 10y ago
      > He represents the DLC/Establishment wing of the Democrats. Now I swing much closer to Warren, but I'm not going to pretend that there aren't people in the party who agree with his centrist politics. He wouldn't have my vote, but he would have a lot of peoples. That's a fair point. I just don't see him being the one to unite the party between the establishment dems and the bernie dems. The bernie supporters I know absolutely hate the guy. > What do you think Zuckerbergs positions on the issues are? Specifically the things that the left would have a problem with Cory Booker on (charter schools, the medicine import vote, corporate donations, etc)? I think Zuck will be a bit of political chameleon. On the issues you cite specifically: Charter = prob pro charter. Def pro education reform and experimenting with new education models. He's already pretty involved in this via The Primary School that he setup with his wife. I'm not so sure he'll be bullish on charters, but he'll def push for more technology reform in schools (think infusion of more data analytics, student self-directed learning via online resources, etc.) Medicine Import = no clue, but def pro medical reform. His wife will drive his policy positions here and lend him alot of credibility in this arena. Corporate Donations = anti Citizens United and pro campaign finance reform. He's incentivized here to reform the funding/donation scene, since it'll only weaken his foes if it makes it harder to amaze/pool funds. Unfortunately whatever positions he adopts here will prob further entrench billionaire-influence in American politics. The critical asset I see here is he'll be able to unite alot of the big tech billionaires behind him: Cook, Bezos, Page and Brin, etc. By the time he runs, these tech companies will likely completely own American media. It'll be an uphill battle for an opposing candidate to fight this.

Crito 10y ago

Zuck lacks more than just charisma. He lacks social competence. He'd be more like Jeb than Carson. He falls to pieces when he gets flustered, worse than most awkward autistic teenagers in front of a crowd of judgmental peers. Shit, Jeb might just make Zuck look smooth.

user5994461 10y ago

Last but not least: Trump didn't have a credible opponent. That certainly played a big help in his election. We don't know in advance who Zuck could be up against.