"Yada yada yada I will not be running for re-election to the United States Senate, but what I will be doing is traveling the country and speaking out to see if there is an interest in creating a movement to mobilize the middle and bring Americans together."

Joe Manchin Says He Won't Seek Reelection in 2024 | TIME

MSNBC chyron said he wasn't running for president. But the anchor did quote his odd quip about traveling the country and the anchor said "That still sounds a presidential announcement."

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[–] jonne 12 points 2 years ago (1 children)

It's crazy how politicians assume that everyone that doesn't fit in either of the parties is automatically 'in the centre'.

There's probably more people on the left of the Democrats than somewhere between Democrats and Republicans.

[–] zifnab25@hexbear.net 11 points 2 years ago

The space between Democrats and Republicans is razor thin, precisely because they've spent so much time toeing the same neoliberal line while fixating on a handful of hot-button social issues.

The country is replete with people who are far to the left and right of this mushy center. Even beyond that, the country is full of (very rationally) cynical people who don't trust the process to promote anyone sincere or popular. So when you do have a guy like Sanders or Trump who comes across as outside the mono-pole, they immediately aggregate a huge swath of the electorate.

The only real defense modern politics has against these guys is to cut them out of the media limelight entirely. Minimize their TV presence and people will forget they exist.

But Manchin can't capture any of that energy, because he is the Ur-centrist. Dude can only exist in a state like W. Virginia, where the political landscape is monopolized by a handful of plutocratic families. But as soon as he steps outside his niche, he's got the Giuliani dilemma of becoming increasingly unlikable the longer he talks.