Favoring a candidate like Biden is so Republican of the Democrats

To the editor: It wasn’t the president this time, but my own party — the Democrats — who aroused my latest wave of political outrage. (“This poll asked voters to create their perfect candidate. Democrats picked an older white guy,” June 19)

We should pick a middle-aged white man to run for president because a younger or older or female or nonwhite nominee will alarm some voters? Right, let’s not wait for President Trump’s supporters to deny opportunity; let’s do it ourselves.

Have we forgotten about the Democrats’ retaking of the House? It came from the energy of a hugely diverse group of newcomers, a high proportion of which were young and female. They campaigned with vigor and purpose. They pulled in money from ordinary people rather than the usual suspects, and they won.

Have the Democrats so many wins these days we can forget what actually works instead of the “accepted wisdom”?

Integrity works. Cowardice keeps voters home on election day.

Margaret Morris, Ventura

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To the editor: Your article on what Democrats view as an electable candidate covered most of the issues that Democrats have to deal with in their campaign to defeat Trump. Certainly the issue of being able to capture red states is of the first order.

I view our federal government under Trump as chaotic. With his hoped-for defeat in 2020, I can only imagine what will transpire in the remaining months of his administration — I envision willfully inflicted chaos prior to inauguration day.

The Democratic candidate therefore must have excellent managerial skills as well as keen knowledge of the way Washington works in order to put our government back on track. I can’t imagine a mayor or a first-term senator being able to accomplish this.

John Fisher, Woodland Hills

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To the editor: I am dismayed (but not surprised) by the preconceived notions of the type of candidate who can beat Trump. It seems to me that we have to give these incredibly diverse and talented contenders some face time before we can judge anyone’s electability.

At the end of the day, whatever their talents and positions on the issues are, the successful candidate must possess charisma, and there are a number of nonwhite, non-male, young and old candidates who have plenty of that.

I want to have a visceral sense of the candidates before I can make any decision about who will get my vote. It may be that going the “safe” way in the 2020 election could be a losing strategy for the Democrats.

John Beckman, Chino Hills

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