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https://www.theguardian.com/news/ng-interactive/2026/aug/15/will-aoc-run-for-president>
"“They assume that my ambition is positional. They assume that my ambition is a
title or a seat. And my ambition is way bigger than that. My ambition is to
change this country.”
The words were delivered slowly, deliberately and with some steeliness by
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Her audience, crammed into the pews of
Rockefeller Memorial chapel at the University of Chicago, burst into
spontaneous applause. That was in May. In the three months since, the
speculation around Ocasio-Cortez’s ambitions – for herself and for America –
has only grown louder.
Friends and foes alike wonder if the stars are aligning for the New York
congresswoman to run for US president in 2028. They point to voters raging
against the machine – including the ageing Democratic party establishment – and
hungry for change. They note how progressives pushing for economic justice and
universal healthcare have won a string of impressive victories in mayoral
elections and congressional primaries over the past year.
Then there are the opinion polls. Last month a Granite State Poll from the
University of New Hampshire found Ocasio-Cortez leading a potential Democratic
field in that crucial state. She has the kind of name recognition that money
can’t buy, nearly 10m followers on Instagram alone and fans ranging from the
Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) to Nancy Pelosi, the former speaker of
the House of Representatives.
As Barack Obama, Donald Trump and Joe Biden showed, presidential elections have
a habit of finding the right person at the right time in the right place.
Ocasio-Cortez, a 36-year-old with a progressive agenda and can’t-be-taught
social media smarts, could meet the moment for a nation eager for a fresh start
after a decade of Trumpism.
If modern politics is about pendulum swings, it is hard to imagine anyone who
better personifies a rebuke of the octogenarian Trump and his nativist “Make
America great again” (Maga) movement. This week a Zogby Strategies national
poll found that a generic democratic socialist candidate leads generic Maga
candidate 45% to 33%.
Ashik Siddique, a co-chair of the DSA, of which Ocasio-Cortez is a member,
said: “If she were to throw her hat in the ring, there would be a lot of
excitement for it from members of Democratic Socialists of America. We
definitely want to see a strong working class voice in the 2028 presidential
primary.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
