I haven't really a strong preference any way yet; my first choice has dropped out already, and with woomistress Williamson out of the race, I could be anywhere from fairly to quite happy voting for any of the rest of them. Every single one represents some to much improvement over the current occupant.
Anyway, I had been a Castro supporter because I wanted someone with White House experience that wasn't ten years past the normal retirement age. Also, on a purely power-politics level, he had the potential to shake up the vote in Texas (or at least make Republicans work a little harder there than they might otherwise have to), as well as boosting Hispanic/Latino turnout, which has never been high, lagging far behind Caucasian and African-American turnout. And I would have put money on Donnieboy saying something appallingly racist (not that his base cares, but fuck them, I want the independents and disenchanted Republicans who vote) during the campaign, and possibly even during the debates.
I'm not leaning any particular way right now.
Part of me wants to vote Buttigieg, whose intelligence impresses me, but I think needs a little more experience before he's ready for the presidency; he might be a wildcard pick for the VP slot, especially if an East Coaster gets the nomination.
I've always liked Bernie's politics, but his style leaves something to be desired (like tact and flexibility), and his age is strongly against him, especially if he's already having cardiac issues on the campaign trail. And, let's be honest, he's still not a registered Democrat, he's just running as one.
Joe's a safe bet, but he's not an exciting one, and isn't really offering to be anything more than "Not Don".
I like Warren's vision, and she's an engaging speaker -- I got to see her campaigning for Hillary in '16 and she left me wondering why she wasn't the nominee. And I like Klobuchar's pragmatism, although she's not as inspiring on the campaign trail. She has the potential to be an Angela Merkel-style figure, running more or less as 'mommy' (which has worked unquestionably well for "
Mutti" Merkel, certainly).
Yang is another bright 'un, although he's got that same lack-of-experience thing going on, and I'm gunshy of businesspeople thinking they can be President. The three primarily-businessmen that have already taken the office -- Hoover, Bush Jr and Donnieboy (all Republicans, of course) -- are three of the worst presidents in American history. The same brush applies to Bloomberg; being mayor of New York City is certainly experience of a higher order than some governorships, but -- businessman. Worse, he
looks like he's trying to buy the nomination. He probably is -- $45 billion is a pretty damn deep pocket, but the
appearance of doing it is what's probably going to hurt more.
The last thing to remember is that barring monumental coattails this November, whoever's elected is going to preside over a closely divided government. All the vision in the world isn't going to help Warren or Sanders get some of their proposals past a Congress that doesn't reflect their views. The Republicans are Stepford wives and will automatically oppose
en bloc anything said by a Democrat, even if it's objectively non-controversial. The Democrats are like herding cats. I posted on a different forum the following observations, in response to someone who was pushing the "Bernie or Bust" line:
First, without a supportive Congress, very little of the progressive agenda is going to happen.
Second, this is a process, not a destination. We don’t need Bernie so much as we need thousands more like him, and AOC, and Warren, and so on all across the country.
And third, don’t let perfect get in the way of better. We have 40 years of right-wing madness to untangle, and that’s not going to happen in just one election.
Defeating Trump and Pence this fall is only the excision of the main tumor. We need political chemotherapy for
decades to rid ourselves of the cancer of modern Republicanism.