Brendan Nyhan

New NYT: Donald Trump, the Green Lantern candidate

From my new Upshot column:

Why is Donald Trump leading the polls in the G.O.P. presidential race? One explanation is his celebrity and the media attention he attracts. But he has also exploited our vulnerability to pleasing fictions about presidential power.

We like to pretend that presidents exert vast control over the country, commanding not only the direction of American politics but also the laws and policies of the country and even the state of the economy.

When presidents fail to control events to our liking, critics often suggest that the problem is the chief executive’s failure to try hard enough or act tough enough. I’ve called this pattern the Green Lantern theory of the presidency after the comic book superheroes who wield special rings with powers that are limited only by the hero’s willpower.

Mr. Trump is the purest Green Lantern candidate we’ve seen in recent years.

New NYT: Biden is already running

From my new Upshot column:

Is Joe Biden running for president? Effectively yes, even though he is not yet a declared candidate.

Buzz has grown about a potential Biden candidacy this week after The Times columnist Maureen Dowd wrote that he was considering entering the race, in part because of urging from his son Beau, who died in May.

Media accounts have suggested that the decision will be made during a family vacation in September, but Mr. Biden is functionally already a candidate in the so-called invisible primary, which plays an enormous role in nomination contests. The question now is whether he will receive enough support to decide to make it official.