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January 18, 2013 11:29 AM UTC

Hickenlooper For President? "TBD"

  • 12 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

FOX 31’s Eli Stokols reports obligatively:

Hickenlooper, when asked the 2016 question, has always dismissed the rumor that he might seek the Democratic presidential nomination; and, last week in his State of the State address, he playfully acknowledged that he’s confident about and focused on reelection, noting that he considers the mid-way point of his first term “the quarter point” of his administration.

But make no mistake: Hickenlooper is increasingly well-positioned for a presidential run in 2016 or, perhaps more realistically, in 2020.

In this month’s issue of 5280 magazine, Hickenlooper’s chief strategist, Alan Salazar, became the first member of the governor’s inner circle to openly express excitement about the prospect of a future presidential run.

The magazine’s editor at large, Maximillian Potter, asked, “Will we ever see a President Hickenlooper?”

Salazar’s stunningly candid response: “I hope so.”

Speculation about a possible presidential bid for Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, most recently stoked by a story in Politico that referred to him as a potential 2016 candidate, is primarily based in his overwhelmingly favorable approval ratings here in Colorado–persistently among the highest for any governor in America. That favorability, however, is based more on Hickenlooper’s perceived personal affability among voters than actual policy achievements as Governor. That’s a subtle but important difference.

The fact is that Hickenlooper’s relations with the Democratic base, particularly conservation-minded liberals, are more than a bit strained after his repeated statements, some bordering on gaffes, in favor of the industry. We do expect Hickenlooper to pick up support on the left after the legislature passes such high-profile bills as civil unions and the ASSET undocumented student tuition bill this year. Larger solutions to long-term fiscal problems the state faces are not yet in place, awaiting the next step in Hickenlooper’s ironically-named “TBD” initiative.

In short, Hickenlooper’s viability for high national office remains theoretical at best. We haven’t heard anything since the initial rumor about a possible Commerce Secretary appointment, but that remains one of a number of possbilities.

If Hickenlooper is serious about the “slow rollout” of his national aspirations described in Stokols’ piece today, and he wants to use his record as governor as part of that, he’ll need to turn issues like oil and gas drilling, and the state’s “TBD” fiscal outlook, into past-tense accomplishments.

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12 thoughts on “Hickenlooper For President? “TBD””

  3. Ritter had more cajones and sense of purpose.

    Being likeable is not the same as being a leader.

    Hickenlooper is a mediocre administrator at best and if his only claim to fame is that he has no enemies then it should be pretty obvious that he hasn’t done much.

    How can you possibly compare this milquetoast politician with Obama when it comes to the national stage and the ability to stay focused when people say mean things about you?

    1. my only disagreement with you GG is that I do think he has good admin skills and I think he has generally chosen well his division/dept heads

    2. The Republicans had the State House. He couldn’t have done anything without their approval, and his populist approach did allow the Democrats to win complete control of the State Legislature.
      Hickenlooper played the cards he was dealt, and he played them well

      1. You give him way too much credit for retaking the House. Republicans shot themselves in the foot, leg, balls and head with their boneheaded handling of just about everything.

        We do know that Hickenlooper likes to pick Republicans for the State Supreme Court and other state level commissions so Republicans didn’t get totally routed in 2012.

  4. Ah, yes, TBD
    In my opinion that did not turn out all that well. I have to say that in the several communities where I heard proposals I do know that some were highlighted to OEDIT and that many, perhaps most not much happened with as yet

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