The Ramaswamy Phenomenon

My frequent focus on Vivek Ramaswamy as a legitimate presidential candidate has been more of a prediction of his unlikely rise in voter approval than an endorsement... so far.

But I can see Ramaswamy's appeal. As a political phenomenon I put Ramaswamy in the same category as DJT... a deus ex machina thrown into a political mix where public disapproval of US government institutions has reached unprecedented levels (justifiably in my opinion) and where America's middle class, frog in the pot style, continues to lose ground economically. It is understandable that many disaffected voters would latch onto what they perceive is a lifeline candidate, with no connection to the current political establishment, to rescue them from a government that has lost their trust. Just as DJT's "outlier" victory shocked the political establishment in 2016, for months I have viewed Ramaswamy's potential to win the presidency much in the same vein.

Why would citizens, dissatisfied with government, latch onto Ramaswamy? Ramaswamy has emerged as the nation's leading fighter against ESG. He has written a bestselling book on the topic, "Woke," and has moved the needle away from social justice investing back to free markets. Larry Fink no longer uses the term ESG. Ramaswamy has been a successful fortune 500 CEO and has started a successful "anti ESG fund." He's young, has a young family, and like many smart recent immigrants (or 2nd gen immigrants) he articulates the need to return to traditional American values with elan and effectiveness. Think Elon Musk.

Many say Ramaswamy doesn't have the experience to run the country. What experience does it take to run the country? Those "experienced" in power now have done a terrible job. That people reach out to what they perceive as an authentic potential leader, unassociated with the failing, venal political establishment, when they have had to endure self-aggrandizing and corrupt leadership with its resultant economic hardship, is totally understandable. Speaking of deus ex machina, University of Colorado football coach, Deion (Prime) Sanders has been treated by NCAA college football cognoscenti as a laughingstock... until last week. Stuff happens (as we learned in 2016).