Eric Swalwell

The cavalcade of Democratic presidential candidates continues with Eric Swalwell, a four-term congressman from the San Francisco/San Jose area. In any other election he'd be remarkably young, but to show how this is becoming a kids vs. grandparents election, Swalwell, 38, is the third youngest candidate (behind Tulsi Gabbard and Pete Buttigieg).

Swalwell, who looks like of like Robert Redford in The Candidate, is unlikely to make many inroads in this campaign. In this age of diversity for the party, he seems like just another white guy, and that position seems to be occupied by Beto O'Rourke. Swalwell announced on Late Night With Stephen Colbert, I guess because that's just the way to do things now, or maybe that's his way of trying to be hip.

Like beauty pageant contestants with platforms, there are so many candidates that they seem to be claiming one particular issue. Swalwell's is gun control, a noble but perhaps fool-hardy choice. Despite the rash of shootings across the country, and the eroding support for the NRA, there is still a large block of people who think gun control means taking away their guns, even Democrats. Swalwell, should he make the debates, will have to explain that's not what it means.

What intrigues me about Swalwell is that he is, according to OntheIssues.org, a hard-core liberal, he looks like a conservative, a nice church-going fellow who wants to execute gays. Maybe he ought to mess up his hair a bit, like O'Rourke. Of course, Pete Buttigieg looks like a Sunday school teacher, but that gay thing is out there telling us he's no member of The 700 Club.

Swalwell is pro-LGBT rights, has an A rating from NORML (pro-cannabis), pro-choice, pro Dream Act, for raising the minimum wage, etc. His one concession to conservative values is his hard on crime stance--he earns an 85 percent from the NAPO (the National Association of Police Officers), taking the position that stricter punishment reduces crime.

Swalwell will likely be out after Iowa, or maybe New Hampshire. I suspect his running is to gain wider visibility in a future run for Senate (Dianne Feinstein has to die sometime). Anyone associated with San Francisco is not likely to do well in a national election (Kamala Harris has to keep saying "I'm from Oakland!") and he presents no benefits as a VEEP candidate. Good luck, Eric.

As with every candidate I've written about, he'd be leaps and bounds a better president than Donald Trump.