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2020 Democratic Primary Tag

I wrote recently that Elizabeth Warren's presidential campaign already has been defined by her Native American problem much as emails defined Hillary. Trump has switched, at least temporarily, from calling her "Pocahontas" to mock her false claim to be Native American to mocking the DNA test results that showed Warren may only be 1/1024th Native American (by DNA, which is not how real Native Americans determine whether someone is a tribal member).

You all remember the "Mike Dukakis Tank" image? Dukakis, trying to overcome the public perception that he was a wimp and soft on the military, boarded a tank on September 13, 1988. The image tanked his presidential campaign because the theater he created exposed him as a phony. Trying to portray the candidate as something he so clearly was not diminished the candidate and reduced him to a punchline.

Elizabeth Warren surprised no one by announcing she has formed an exploratory committee to run for president. The only surprise was the timing -- New Year's Eve day. As with everything Warren does, that timing undoubtedly was chosen by her team of political handlers, the same people who told her to roll out her DNA test results just before the midterms. It will be a slow couple of days and Warren will dominate the news cycle.

According to a new USA Today/Suffolk poll, Democrats and independents have little enthusiasm for the rising stars within the Democratic Party or a few of seasoned veterans except for former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). However, the poll didn't include former First Lady Michelle Obama. Professor Jacobson blogged yesterday that early polling shows Michelle dominating Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).

Elizabeth Warren is trying to dig herself out from the hole she created with her false claim to be Native American for employment purposes and her inept 6-year long cover-up. In particular. Warren's October 2018 rollout of her DNA test is almost uniformly viewed as a strategic error that has seriously damaged her presidential prospects.

Beto O'Rourke is scoping out a presidential run. According to Buzzfeed, his recon included a call to Al Sharpton to schedule a meeting. A Sharpton spokeswoman confirmed to Buzzfeed that "they spoke and agreed to meet within the next couple of weeks and they had a great conversation."