“By the time Rauner runs for president, it might make even more sense.” … The Sun-Times’ Mark Brown today in the kicker of his column about incoming Gov. Bruce Rauner’s blind trust.
I’ve heard several people allude to the possibilty that Rauner has presidential aspirations. It’s hard to imagine any governor or even member of Congress not musing in idle moment about how great it would be — how great they would be — to occupy the Oval Office.
And yes, the speculation is premature given that he won’t even be sworn in until Monday for his first day in any elective office.
But in keeping with one of this blog’s mottos — Non coniectare imprudentior esset, loosely translated as “It is irresponsible not to speculate” — let’s mull this over:
Rauner’s avowed support of abortion rights disqualifies him, for the moment, as a Republican nominee. But Mitt Romney was a pro-choice Republican when he ran for governor of Massachusetts, did a 180 when in office and won his party’s nomination in 2012, so one should never say never.
He’ll turn 63 in 2019, the year candidates will begin jockying in earnest for the 2020 presidential election. And if there is a Democratic incumbent, if he can lay plausible claim to having overseen “The Illinois Miracle” and if he has “evolved” into enough of a social conservative to appeal to the party’s base voters…. yeah, I can see it.
