A younger Jerry Brown...

[President Johnson]

If California Governor Jerry Brown would be 15 years younger (and never ran for president before, and had not been gov. before 2011), how would he be doing in the primaries and in a general election against Trump? The guy has definitely a record to run on as governor of the most populous state since 2011.

[Rjjr77]

If California Governor Jerry Brown would be 15 years younger (and never ran for president before, and had not been gov. before 2011), how would he be doing in the primaries and in a general election against Trump? The guy has definitely a record to run on as governor of the most populous state since 2011.

Elections what ifs?

[Fuzzy Bear]

The things that hurt Jerry Brown back then were his New Age-ish image.  The Governor Moonbeam thing.  Having Linda Ronstadt as his girlfriend.  These things wouldn't hurt him today, but back then, when he was young, this detracted from the fact that he was a serious public official. 

I can't imagine what a "younger Jerry Brown" would be like today, because I am well acquainted with what the real "younger Jerry Brown" was.  He would be somewhat less in demand as a Presidential candidate because California is now like Massachusetts in terms of voting Democratic for President, something that was NOT true when Brown was younger.  The Jerry Brown of 1976, for better or worse, stood out from the rest of the Democratic field by advocating new ways of looking at things that were considered trendy because of the weariness even Democrats had with the Great Society.  He was a neo-liberal, for better or worse, and that stood him apart from both the traditional liberals and the Southern moderates.  Today, he doesn't really stand out from the crowd, and I don't see how there would be a demand created for a candidate like him when there are a whole lot of candidates like him today.

[Kingpoleon]

If he were fourteen years younger and had the same public career AIOTL, he would have strong potential.

[President Johnson]

The things that hurt Jerry Brown back then were his New Age-ish image.  The Governor Moonbeam thing.  Having Linda Ronstadt as his girlfriend.  These things wouldn't hurt him today, but back then, when he was young, this detracted from the fact that he was a serious public official. 

I can't imagine what a "younger Jerry Brown" would be like today, because I am well acquainted with what the real "younger Jerry Brown" was.  He would be somewhat less in demand as a Presidential candidate because California is now like Massachusetts in terms of voting Democratic for President, something that was NOT true when Brown was younger.  The Jerry Brown of 1976, for better or worse, stood out from the rest of the Democratic field by advocating new ways of looking at things that were considered trendy because of the weariness even Democrats had with the Great Society.  He was a neo-liberal, for better or worse, and that stood him apart from both the traditional liberals and the Southern moderates.  Today, he doesn't really stand out from the crowd, and I don't see how there would be a demand created for a candidate like him when there are a whole lot of candidates like him today.

I meant some vita like this without his previous tenure as governor:

Born in 1953.
1991-1999 California Secretary of State
1999-2007 Mayor of Oakland
2007-2011 California Attorney General
2011-2019 Governor of California

[DK_Mo82]

I get tired of people point out age. Somehow Jerry Brown can manage to have held jobs as mayor in Oakland and Governor of biggest state in history of the US for 16 years but is too old to be elected President?  Meanwhile the median age for a Senator is 70?

IT is another form of evaluating people based on something other than their ability to perform the task at hand. An 80 year old can be elected president and the country will be jsut fine.

Another unhealthy thing that has happened is we expect the President to run for re-election.  This dates back to even before radio, and LBJ is the only example of anyone not running for 2nd term, dating back to TR, and before him I think before the civil war.,

The Presidency has become a behemoth, not a coequal branch of government or we would not make such a big deal about these things.  Maybe it is a holdover from the idea of a monarch.

[pbrower2a]

He would be President now.

[Oakvale]

I get tired of people point out age. Somehow Jerry Brown can manage to have held jobs as mayor in Oakland and Governor of biggest state in history of the US for 16 years but is too old to be elected President?  Meanwhile the median age for a Senator is 70?

IT is another form of evaluating people based on something other than their ability to perform the task at hand. An 80 year old can be elected president and the country will be jsut fine.

Another unhealthy thing that has happened is we expect the President to run for re-election.  This dates back to even before radio, and LBJ is the only example of anyone not running for 2nd term, dating back to TR, and before him I think before the civil war.,

The Presidency has become a behemoth, not a coequal branch of government or we would not make such a big deal about these things.  Maybe it is a holdover from the idea of a monarch.

Yes a man who'd be 86 at the end of his term is too old to serve in the Presidency. Not sure what's complicated about this?

[Fuzzy Bear]

If Trump is strong in 2020, Jerry Brown might be the best candidate the Democrats can put up, age and all.

He's sharp, he's creative, and he would have the upper hand on the issue of experience if it comes down to Trump being viewed as a failure due to his prior inexperience in politics.  He's not that much older than Biden, and he's always been thoughtful.  He also has the potential of being viewed as a guy of having been ahead of his time whose time has now come  The Governor Moonbeam stuff was something that distracted from Brown's image of competence back then, but that image has faded without Brown having changed.  Brown is a guy who has seen society, for better or worse, change to where he's in the mainstream.  When you think about it, that's a pretty imposing narrative.

[TonyP63]

Wouldve been great

[DK_Mo82]

I get tired of people point out age. Somehow Jerry Brown can manage to have held jobs as mayor in Oakland and Governor of biggest state in history of the US for 16 years but is too old to be elected President?  Meanwhile the median age for a Senator is 70?

IT is another form of evaluating people based on something other than their ability to perform the task at hand. An 80 year old can be elected president and the country will be jsut fine.

Another unhealthy thing that has happened is we expect the President to run for re-election.  This dates back to even before radio, and LBJ is the only example of anyone not running for 2nd term, dating back to TR, and before him I think before the civil war.,

The Presidency has become a behemoth, not a coequal branch of government or we would not make such a big deal about these things.  Maybe it is a holdover from the idea of a monarch.

Yes a man who'd be 86 at the end of his term is too old to serve in the Presidency. Not sure what's complicated about this?

There are 86 yr old men in all fields who perform at standards of their profession. And the president has best on call medical care in the World.  I don't understand why you would think the way you do.

[Fuzzy Bear]

The things that hurt Jerry Brown back then were his New Age-ish image.  The Governor Moonbeam thing.  Having Linda Ronstadt as his girlfriend.  These things wouldn't hurt him today, but back then, when he was young, this detracted from the fact that he was a serious public official. 

I can't imagine what a "younger Jerry Brown" would be like today, because I am well acquainted with what the real "younger Jerry Brown" was.  He would be somewhat less in demand as a Presidential candidate because California is now like Massachusetts in terms of voting Democratic for President, something that was NOT true when Brown was younger.  The Jerry Brown of 1976, for better or worse, stood out from the rest of the Democratic field by advocating new ways of looking at things that were considered trendy because of the weariness even Democrats had with the Great Society.  He was a neo-liberal, for better or worse, and that stood him apart from both the traditional liberals and the Southern moderates.  Today, he doesn't really stand out from the crowd, and I don't see how there would be a demand created for a candidate like him when there are a whole lot of candidates like him today.

I meant some vita like this without his previous tenure as governor:

Born in 1953.
1991-1999 California Secretary of State
1999-2007 Mayor of Oakland
2007-2011 California Attorney General
2011-2019 Governor of California

Jerry Brown is intriguing and impressive specifically because of his previous term as California Governor and his three (3) runs for President.  The hypothetical Jerry Brown presented here isn't anything special.

[Lief 🗽]

He'd be the obvious frontrunner (if he hadn't already won the nomination in 2016).

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

The things that hurt Jerry Brown back then were his New Age-ish image.  The Governor Moonbeam thing.  Having Linda Ronstadt as his girlfriend.  These things wouldn't hurt him today, but back then, when he was young, this detracted from the fact that he was a serious public official. 

I can't imagine what a "younger Jerry Brown" would be like today, because I am well acquainted with what the real "younger Jerry Brown" was.  He would be somewhat less in demand as a Presidential candidate because California is now like Massachusetts in terms of voting Democratic for President, something that was NOT true when Brown was younger.  The Jerry Brown of 1976, for better or worse, stood out from the rest of the Democratic field by advocating new ways of looking at things that were considered trendy because of the weariness even Democrats had with the Great Society.  He was a neo-liberal, for better or worse, and that stood him apart from both the traditional liberals and the Southern moderates.  Today, he doesn't really stand out from the crowd, and I don't see how there would be a demand created for a candidate like him when there are a whole lot of candidates like him today.

I meant some vita like this without his previous tenure as governor:

Born in 1953.
1991-1999 California Secretary of State
1999-2007 Mayor of Oakland
2007-2011 California Attorney General
2011-2019 Governor of California

Jerry Brown is intriguing and impressive specifically because of his previous term as California Governor and his three (3) runs for President.  The hypothetical Jerry Brown presented here isn't anything special.

A Brown born in 1953, assuming he had the same leg up from his father having been governor, could have previously been governor from, say, 1987 to 1995, and run for president in 1992 and 1996.

[Rjjr77]

The things that hurt Jerry Brown back then were his New Age-ish image.  The Governor Moonbeam thing.  Having Linda Ronstadt as his girlfriend.  These things wouldn't hurt him today, but back then, when he was young, this detracted from the fact that he was a serious public official. 

I can't imagine what a "younger Jerry Brown" would be like today, because I am well acquainted with what the real "younger Jerry Brown" was.  He would be somewhat less in demand as a Presidential candidate because California is now like Massachusetts in terms of voting Democratic for President, something that was NOT true when Brown was younger.  The Jerry Brown of 1976, for better or worse, stood out from the rest of the Democratic field by advocating new ways of looking at things that were considered trendy because of the weariness even Democrats had with the Great Society.  He was a neo-liberal, for better or worse, and that stood him apart from both the traditional liberals and the Southern moderates.  Today, he doesn't really stand out from the crowd, and I don't see how there would be a demand created for a candidate like him when there are a whole lot of candidates like him today.

I meant some vita like this without his previous tenure as governor:

Born in 1953.
1991-1999 California Secretary of State
1999-2007 Mayor of Oakland
2007-2011 California Attorney General
2011-2019 Governor of California

Jerry Brown is intriguing and impressive specifically because of his previous term as California Governor and his three (3) runs for President.  The hypothetical Jerry Brown presented here isn't anything special.

A Brown born in 1953, assuming he had the same leg up from his father having been governor, could have previously been governor from, say, 1987 to 1995, and run for president in 1992 and 1996.

A 34 year old governor and 39 year old presidential candidate? That would have been an awful accelerated timeline

[Kingpoleon]

The things that hurt Jerry Brown back then were his New Age-ish image.  The Governor Moonbeam thing.  Having Linda Ronstadt as his girlfriend.  These things wouldn't hurt him today, but back then, when he was young, this detracted from the fact that he was a serious public official. 

I can't imagine what a "younger Jerry Brown" would be like today, because I am well acquainted with what the real "younger Jerry Brown" was.  He would be somewhat less in demand as a Presidential candidate because California is now like Massachusetts in terms of voting Democratic for President, something that was NOT true when Brown was younger.  The Jerry Brown of 1976, for better or worse, stood out from the rest of the Democratic field by advocating new ways of looking at things that were considered trendy because of the weariness even Democrats had with the Great Society.  He was a neo-liberal, for better or worse, and that stood him apart from both the traditional liberals and the Southern moderates.  Today, he doesn't really stand out from the crowd, and I don't see how there would be a demand created for a candidate like him when there are a whole lot of candidates like him today.

I meant some vita like this without his previous tenure as governor:

Born in 1953.
1991-1999 California Secretary of State
1999-2007 Mayor of Oakland
2007-2011 California Attorney General
2011-2019 Governor of California

Jerry Brown is intriguing and impressive specifically because of his previous term as California Governor and his three (3) runs for President.  The hypothetical Jerry Brown presented here isn't anything special.

A Brown born in 1953, assuming he had the same leg up from his father having been governor, could have previously been governor from, say, 1987 to 1995, and run for president in 1992 and 1996.

A 34 year old governor and 39 year old presidential candidate? That would have been an awful accelerated timeline

He was only 36 when he first became Governor and 38 when he first became a Presidential candidate.