Is Fate Lending a Hand to Ron DeSantis?

[Kamaji]

Is Fate Lending a Hand to Ron DeSantis?

By Manic Contrarian
October 18, 2023

My dad used to tell me that it's better to be lucky than good. And now that I've exceeded five decades on this earth, I understand exactly what my dad meant. My mom would often respond by suggesting there's no substitute for brains.

One of my hobbies is reading biographies. I recently finished Dave Grohl’s (of Foo Fighters fame). I've also read the biographies of Woody Allen, Peter Falk, and Jack Kemp, to name a few more.

People who’ve achieved tremendous success in life seem to all have one thing in common, and that's an almost unshakable belief in themselves. Another is a commitment to hard work. Another, which is beyond their control, is something that, in retrospect, can seem a lot like plain old luck.

What some might choose to call destiny, or fate, can sometimes just be luck dressed up as matters beyond our ability to control.

*  *  *

The point of all of this is sometimes fate has a way of lending a hand to those individuals who are talented and work hard. One of those individuals today is Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the small-town kid with a well-known work ethic and a world-class intellect.

Of the 10+ people running for President, it is DeSantis who has found himself at the center of the events in the Middle East.

Turn on cable news, or many or many of the popular podcasts, and it is DeSantis who is rising to the occasion to meet the crisis head-on.

*  *  *

The man thrives in a crisis — whether it's a Cat-5 Hurricane, his nearly flawless response to COVID-19, or now today, with Israel defending itself against a vicious terrorist cartel.

The candidate, on both sides of the partisan divide, who is being called upon by the media to weigh in on the Israeli crisis — and who has done so with clarity — is Ron DeSantis. And he has also done so intelligently. There's no substitute for brains...

This latest Middle East crisis has, in this writer's opinion, elevated DeSantis to the point of being head and shoulders above the rest of the pack. He has used his machine-like skills for logistics and rapid response to remind the country why an effective chief executive is so important.

*  *  *

Source:  https://redstate.com/politcs/2023/10/18/is-fate-lending-a-hand-to-ron-desantis-n2165176

[Maj. Bill Martin]

DeSantis is a strong conservative and a great executive/administrator.  He's willing to get into the weeds and learn whatever he must to get the job done.  He just isn't a good campaigner.

I've never quite understood why a guy like him doesn't go the self-deprecating route. "Hey, I'm not the world's greatest campaigner.  I don't have a voice like Morgan Freeman or the looks of Brad Bitt.  But I work hard, I study issues, and I get the job done right.  Under my leadership in Florida...."

The second you play the "I'm not the greatest campaigner" card with a sense of humor, you disarm it as a weapon and force people to look beyond that superficiality into substance.

[Hoodat]

DeSantis is a strong conservative and a great executive/administrator.  He's willing to get into the weeds and learn whatever he must to get the job done.  He just isn't a good campaigner.

I've never quite understood why a guy like him doesn't go the self-deprecating route. "Hey, I'm not the world's greatest campaigner.  I don't have a voice like Morgan Freeman or the looks of Brad Bitt.  But I work hard, I study issues, and I get the job done right.  Under my leadership in Florida...."

The second you play the "I'm not the greatest campaigner" card with a sense of humor, you disarm it as a weapon and force people to look beyond that superficiality into substance.

True.  A little humility goes a long way.  Your advice above reminds me of Glenn Younkin.

[Kamaji]

DeSantis is a strong conservative and a great executive/administrator.  He's willing to get into the weeds and learn whatever he must to get the job done.  He just isn't a good campaigner.

I've never quite understood why a guy like him doesn't go the self-deprecating route. "Hey, I'm not the world's greatest campaigner.  I don't have a voice like Morgan Freeman or the looks of Brad Bitt.  But I work hard, I study issues, and I get the job done right.  Under my leadership in Florida...."

The second you play the "I'm not the greatest campaigner" card with a sense of humor, you disarm it as a weapon and force people to look beyond that superficiality into substance.

[berdie]

DeSantis is a strong conservative and a great executive/administrator.  He's willing to get into the weeds and learn whatever he must to get the job done.  He just isn't a good campaigner.

I've never quite understood why a guy like him doesn't go the self-deprecating route. "Hey, I'm not the world's greatest campaigner.  I don't have a voice like Morgan Freeman or the looks of Brad Bitt.  But I work hard, I study issues, and I get the job done right.  Under my leadership in Florida...."

The second you play the "I'm not the greatest campaigner" card with a sense of humor, you disarm it as a weapon and force people to look beyond that superficiality into substance.

I think you should forward this suggestion to DeSantis. It's excellent and would make a difference imho.

[DCPatriot]

I think you should forward this suggestion to DeSantis. It's excellent and would make a difference imho.

It's an excellent line(s) to use in a mid-campaign debate...ala "I'm not going to hold my opponent's age and inexperience against him"   

[LMAO]

It's an excellent line(s) to use in a mid-campaign debate...ala "I'm not going to hold my opponent's age and inexperience against him"   

I remember that line when Reagan used it on Mondale in the last presidential debate in 1984. Even Walter Mondale got a kick out of it. Sometime in the year 2000-ish, a local Minnesota station conducted an interview with Walter Mondale and asked him  if he knew that he was going to lose in the landslide that he did. Mondale’s reply was that he believed at the time he was going to lose all 50 states.

Ronald Reagan effectively defined the Democrat party for the American people. But he did it with humor. For example, one of his sayings was something along the lines of for Republicans, Fourth of July is their favorite holiday. For Democrats, it was April 15…lol

[LMAO]

DeSantis is a strong conservative and a great executive/administrator.  He's willing to get into the weeds and learn whatever he must to get the job done.  He just isn't a good campaigner.

I've never quite understood why a guy like him doesn't go the self-deprecating route. "Hey, I'm not the world's greatest campaigner.  I don't have a voice like Morgan Freeman or the looks of Brad Bitt.  But I work hard, I study issues, and I get the job done right.  Under my leadership in Florida...."

The second you play the "I'm not the greatest campaigner" card with a sense of humor, you disarm it as a weapon and force people to look beyond that superficiality into substance.

Agree

Poll after poll shows that the American people do not want another Biden/Trump contest. That would be an opening for not only a different republican candidate, but another democrat candidate to try to run in 2024.

However, whatever Democrat runs in 2024 will have the Biden second term label attached to them. Remember what the Democrats effectively did to McCain in 2008? They told the American people that a vote for McCain is a third term for George W. Bush.

Democrats would probably try to label any republican running as a “MAGA Republican.” But DeSantis could simply point out that if he was such a “MAGA Republican”, why did Donald Trump attack him the way he did during the campaign?

[deb]

I remember that line when Reagan used it on Mondale in the last presidential debate in 1984. Even Walter Mondale got a kick out of it. Sometime in the year 2000-ish, a local Minnesota station had an interview with Walter Mondale and asked him about if he knew that he was going to lose in the landslide that he did. Mondale’s reply was that he believed at the time he was going to lose all 50 states.

Ronald Reagan effectively defined the Democrat party for the American people. But he did it with humor. For example, one of his sayings was something along the lines of for Republicans, Fourth of July is their favorite holiday. For Democrats, it was April 15…lol

Reagan was brilliant. Really, we haven’t seen another of his caliber since and probably won’t.
Good advice given here for Governor DeSantis. I pray someone in his campaign sees it.

[Maj. Bill Martin]

Agree

Poll after poll shows that the American people do not want another Biden/Trump contest. That would be an opening for not only a different republican candidate, but another democrat candidate to try to run in 2024.

However, whatever Democrat runs in 2024 will have the Biden second term label attached to them. Remember what the Democrats effectively did to McCain in 2008? They told the American people that a vote for McCain is a third term for George W. Bush.

Democrats would probably try to label any republican running as a “MAGA Republican.” But DeSantis could simply point out that if he was such a “MAGA Republican”, why did Donald Trump attack him the way he did during the campaign?

Exactly!

[LMAO]

Reagan was brilliant. Really, we haven’t seen another of his caliber since and probably won’t.
Good advice given here for Governor DeSantis. I pray someone in his campaign sees it.

I wasn’t quite old enough yet to vote in 1980, but I remember begging my Democrat parents to vote for him. Which they did.

I am proud to say that he was my first vote in 1984. I was stationed in Fort Sill at the time and on election night we all went into the rec room and every time someone state was announced as coming in for Ronald Reagan, anybody who was from that state got up and cheered

For those who are too young to even remember that time or were not even born, I can assure you that the mood and the condition of the country was a lot different by 1984 from 1980. There was no hope whatsoever  for poor Walter Mondale.

[Maj. Bill Martin]

😂
Ronald Reagan effectively defined the Democrat party for the American people. But he did it with humor. For example, one of his sayings was something along the lines of for Republicans, Fourth of July is their favorite holiday. For Democrats, it was April 15…lol

The key to Reagan was that he chuckled as he said it, so that people knew he wasn't really accusing Democrats of not loving their country.  It's an entirely different line that leads to an entirely different reaction if you say it angrily rather than with a chuckle.

And that's why folks loved him - he clearly had a big heart.

[LMAO]

The key to Reagan was that he chuckled as he said it, so that people knew he wasn't really accusing Democrats of not loving their country.  It's an entirely different line that leads to an entirely different reaction if you say it angrily rather than with a chuckle.

And that's why folks loved him - he clearly had a big heart.

The 1970s was a crisis era. Perfect opportunity for somebody like Ronald Reagan

I mean, we had high inflation, energy issues, and embarrassing and tragic military withdrawal from a foreign country, the Middle East was aflame, Russia was on the march, inner city crime was out of control, there was a general malaise in the country. I mean it was terrible time that thank God has not been repeated…oh wait… Lol.

Ok, but at least we had kick ass rock in the  70s and early 80s

[DefiantMassRINO]

Reagan had charisma, media saavy, and effective comedic timing.

DeSantis needs original material; quoting or paraphrasing others makes him look like a wannabee hack.

Campaigns hire speach writers.  Maybe DeSantis campaign needs to hire quip writers.