People Are Floating Some Wild Ideas for 2024

A Biden-Trump rematch seems like a plausible bet for the 2024 race. And while a Trump candidacy isn't a sure thing, headlines have surfaced recently suggesting that just as much uncertainty dogs the Democratic side. Examples:

• Clinton again? An op-ed in the Wall Street Journal lays out a scenario in which Hillary Clinton would once again run for president. "Several circumstances—President Biden's low approval rating, doubts over his capacity to run for re-election at 82, Vice President Kamala Harris' unpopularity, and the absence of another strong Democrat to lead the ticket in 2024—have created a leadership vacuum in the party, which Mrs. Clinton viably could fill," write Douglas E. Schoen and Andrew Stein.

• No Harris? In the New York Times, Thomas Friedman makes the case for what would be another startling Democratic ticket: Biden-Cheney. As in, Republican Rep. Liz Cheney. Friedman argues that we're in dire political times and in need of unprecedented action, and he draws a parallel to what recently happened in Israel. He quotes political scientist Steven Levitsky: "We should be ready to talk about Liz Cheney as part of a blow-your-mind Israeli-style fusion coalition with Democrats. It is a coalition that says: 'There is only one overriding goal right now—that is saving our democratic system.'"
• Um, no: At CNN, Chris Cillizza runs through the idea of Clinton running in 2024 and offers a point-by-point rebuttal. For example, the op-ed authors argue that Clinton has the perfect experience for the job, but "isn't that what voters chose the current president for?" he asks. "Yes, yes it is. And while Clinton and Biden are not carbon copies of one another, their relevant experience is remarkably similar—long careers in the public policy space in Washington." He points out that Clinton already has lost twice even with her long resume, and he doesn't buy the idea that she's sending signals that she'd be willing to run.
• Um, no, II: At the Intelligencer blog, Ed Kiglore throws similar cold water on the Cheney idea. "Democrats are very likely to say thanks, but no thanks, to Friedman for the idea of submitting their party to some sort of unwieldy and unnatural coalition of national salvation, so long as there is the slightest hope of beating Trump the old-fashioned way," he writes. Cheney does indeed deserve "great respect" for how she has defied Trump, and maybe something like an ambassadorship is a fitting reward should Biden win again. "But she has no business being at the top of the line of succession to a Democratic president."
• Or maybe ... As long as people are tossing out wild ideas, the Fix blog of the Washington Post pitches some "far-fetched sleeper tickets" of its own. Some examples: Biden and Mary Trump, Michelle and Barack Obama, Biden and Dick Cheney, or Biden with Republican Govs. Larry Hogan of Maryland, Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, or Phil Scott of Vermont.

(More Election 2024 stories.)