Little Rock       Do you have any free time over the next eighteen months?  If you do, how about joining the cool kids?  Just drop everything and run for President, OK?  And, why not?  Everyone else is!  We got some good news recently.  It was not about new candidates coming into the race, it was about potential candidates taking their names out of the running.

Billionaire former Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg, has announced that he is not running.  He said that he was positive that he could have beaten Donald Trump easily, but didn’t think that he could necessarily get through the Democratic primary to do so, especially if former Vice President Joe Biden jumps in the race.  Former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu also has publicly indicated that he is almost 100% certain that he will not run either, which also shows good sense.

Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon says he is also not running, which is also good news.  Seems that several potential Democratic candidates for much needed Senate races are fiddle-faddling around because they are debating a run against Trump as well, including the governor of Montana.  Heck, the mayor of South Bend, Indiana has announced that he is running.  What you don’t know either of them?  Yes, that’s my point exactly.  Since it is difficult to come from nowhere to run for president and with all due respect to President Trump, he came from somewhere even if his name recognition was based on a long running reality television show and big letters on tall buildings.

Beto O’Rourke, former El Paso city councilman and three term US Congressman from that area of Texas, is rumored to be announcing any day, but after his narrow loss against Senator Ted Cruz, many in Texas and elsewhere think he could have taken a critical Senate seat in Texas to create a much-needed majority there in 2020.  But, is he really running or is just another guy out of a job who needs to keep his donor list growing and his options open?  He’s 46 whereas Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and, yes, even Joe Biden, are all in solid, if not late, 70s.   Since small donors have become as critical as big bucks, you can only feed the beast with more campaigns as Sanders is proving with his record money haul after his announcement, regardless of his unlikely success, compared to others, when matched against President Trump.  Maybe that’s the plan for Julian Castro, former Mayor of San Antonio and Obama HUD director? Maybe he’s trying to keep his options open to have a shot in Texas or be on the list to go back to DC with a Democratic candidate.

But, like I said, if you’ve got some extra time, throw your hat in the ring and make a go of it.  Heck, reports say that Hillary Clinton has still refused to say definitely that she won’t saddle up and ride again, so anything, no matter how crazy, is possible this crowded candidate season.