I’ve been waiting for you, Alan. Thanks for checking in. And no, I did not have you in mind when I wrote this, because you actually think about this stuff before you cry doom. (I know, you didn’t ask, but one might wonder, so one need not wonder; you were not my inspiration here, but I did think of you).

As for Kissinger, yeah, I know, I caught that myself and very lazily said “Well he’s dead to me, and a lot of other people will never know the difference.” Bad on me, and thanks for calling it out.

I agree with you on Kennedy (I don’t think he really wants it, either) and Cuban. I can think of a couple others, though, aside from Bernie (and I don’t write anyone off because of the oldness. I still can’t keep up with him, especially with this sciatica thing). Biden is older than us too, and he has a medical history that makes me a little uneasy, and of course he’s cut from the same cloth the moths have been feasting on, and yet if it comes down to him or nobody, it’s him by a landslide. But there’s also Kamala Harris. Yeah, I am aware of her defects as well, but I’m thinking anyone who can beat Trump and not destroy the Republic is a good starting point right now. And of course Liz Warren. Really. No Messiah (that doesn’t even have a feminine alternative, does it?) but young enough, smart enough, and darn it, people like her. Hopefully enough. I’d throw Steve Bullock in there too, except no one knows who he is.

What we need, as you have somewhat pointed out, is someone willing to throw him(or her)self on the grenade. And live. That probably leaves out Harris, but not the other ones I mentioned. And old guys often feel they have little to lose. I think we should be thinking more about the VP, really, because that’s where the future will lie.

Of course the midterms are nearly at hand, and everything could change then. I know you don’t think it will, but let’s just pretend they do. I’ll leave it at that.

Thanks so much for your balance here. We need to take this act on the road.

Much love to you.