I recently read an article in The Denver Post by John Frank in which Governor John Hickenlooper commented on Hillary Clinton’s e-mail dilemma. I was especially drawn to it because the title of the article was ‘Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper expresses doubt about Hillary Clinton amid e-mail controversy.’ After I read the article and contemplated its title, I did not think that the title was fair based on what was in the article.

But it was a great ‘hook’ and I must admit that as a relatively new blogger, I don’t know a whole lot about these kind of things – but I am learning – so who am I to judge. Basically, while saying that Secretary Clinton was qualified to do the job, what Governor Hickenlooper said was that her e-mail server problem had the potential to present pitfalls that could cost her the nomination. He did not express any doubt about her or her ability to do the job.

In this article someone made a remark, which seemed as if it were in passing based on the amount of attention afforded to it, which suggested that Governor Hickenlooper should run for President. Although this remark sounds like, and likely is, a farfetched idea I have some thoughts about it.

Back in January 2011 when Mr. Hickenlooper was first sworn in as governor, my thoughts were that he was almost indiscernible as a Democrat. This quirky man appeared to be more of a hybrid between Democrat and Republican. At the time, I did not understand this and thought more along the line of him being someone that would readily sell out the Democrats. In my mind he was, and I will use the term created as an analogous to the acronym RINO, a DINO; Democrat In Name Only.

At the time that I first began having these thoughts, Mr. Hickenlooper was the incumbent mayor and as mayor all of the Republicans seemed to love him. I don’t think that the independents were far behind the Republicans in this love fest. But as I continued to follow the governor’s political career I began to have a clearer understanding of who he really is: he is his own man.

As much as I hated to admit it because of my long-held feelings that he was a sellout mayor who was really a Republican disguised as a Democrat so that he could play both sides and reap the political benefits, this mayor was just the governor that Colorado needed. With this being Colorado and with the direction in which the political winds were blowing, we needed someone who could assess various situations, seek the advice of those around him, assimilate that advice and still make his own decisions based on that advice.

We did not need someone who would give in to the strongest voices among his advisors, whether those voices were coming from hardliners whose persuasions were skewed to the left or to the right, but someone who would be his own man. We needed someone who would be his own man and yet be someone who was credible to Democrats, Republicans and independents. That man was John Hickenlooper.

To say those five words – ‘that man was John Hickenlooper’ – would have been too much of a mouthful for me when Mr. Hickenlooper first became mayor but I have since evolved. I have learned that this is the kind of person that is built for reasonable political discourse and compromise and who is among the least likely to sell out; it seems that he is rock solid when it comes to standing on principle.

Before I begin to sound more like Governor Hickenlooper’s PR man than a blogger who is simply trying to share some meaningful information with voters I will refer you to an article that I wrote on him back in November 2014. The article is entitled ‘Still, Governor John Hickenlooper’ and you can click on the title link to read it in its entirety.

As far as the farfetched suggestion that Governor Hickenlooper should run for President is concerned, even if he did decide to run for President the earliest that he could do it and remain in good standing with his fellow Democrats would be in 2024 if the 2016 Democratic nominee wins the general election. However, as previously mentioned, Governor Hickenlooper seems to be built for the kind of responsibility that the President of the United States would have and he seems to have the ability to assimilate and responsibly use the advice of his advisors.

Is it reasonable to believe that he could become President? I think so; if Michael Bennet, Governor Hickenlooper’s Chief of Staff when the Governor was mayor became a US senator from Colorado, why can’t the governor become President?

Although, as far as I am aware, he has never exhibited any desire to run for President he is, after all, a politician. And since politicians are cut from a special bolt of cloth and they are all driven by their political ambitions, as farfetched as the idea of a run for president might sound, do not be surprised if it comes to fruition.

The downside of a run for President in 2024 for Governor Hickenlooper would be that he would be 72 years old and that would put him right around the age that Senator Bernie Sanders is now. Is that too old? I don’t know but I did hear somewhere that to get old is inevitable but to age is a choice. So like I said, do not be surprised if a run for President by Governor Hickenlooper comes to fruition.

Eulus Dennis