On Shaky Spaces and Silver Linings

Snap take on the DeSantis rollout

Republicans who wish for the party to turn the page on the Trump era need Ron DeSantis and his campaign to succeed. If the campaign rollout was any indication, it's still a work in progress.

The technical follies involved in the announcement will be lost on most and soon forgotten by all but the biggest keyboard cowboys, but the idea itself seemed half baked and spur of the moment. Interesting, and not without potential, but not indicative of the fine tuned electoral machine we were promised in the wake of the red wave that crested across the sunshine state eight months ago.

Once he got past the canned opening and Musk's self-indulgent media critiques, DeSantis managed to articulate themes that stand to resonate with GOP primary voters. But with blood in the water, an increasingly crowded primary field, and a narrative that risks spinning out of control, the spaces fail will only amplify the murmurs that the campaign isn't ready for prime time..

The good news for DeSantis is two-fold. As an official candidate, he's be covered on what he does and says rather than the vacuum being filled by meta-commentary. And with the hype giving way to premature campaign obituaries, the bar is sufficiently low that competence and consistency are enough for a second look. The only thing the political media loves more than a pre-mortem is a good comeback story. DeSantis--and anyone who wants to have a shot avoiding a third Trump nomination--has to hope that starts today.

Note: A media organization asked me for a snap write-up of the DeSantis launch, but it only ended up excerpted as a quote in a news story. I wanted to post here in its entirety to capture the full context.