Almost six months ago, eons ago in political terms, Bob Casey, Jr. was relishing his 13 point victory for reelection to the US Senate. He had based his run on being anti-Trump, an accomplishment in a state that Trump had carried.
Asked about a presidential run, he would not reject the idea. “We’ll see what happens.” “an obligation to consider”
Right away, reporters, and Casey, noted a problem or two. He is likeable, but not charismatic. He is a moderate Democrat who is opposed to abortion (though not as militant as his Pennsylvania Governor father whose militancy on the topic prevented him from being on stage at a Presidential convention).
Bob Casey, Jr’s characteristics are not part of the 2020 zietgeist. Even if he was angling for the Vice Presidency, competing with Cory Booker and Kamala Harris, with Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders was not going to get him there. Competing with the eventual candidacy of Joe Biden was certainly not going to get him to be Vice President.
In mid-January, Casey announced he was not running for president. He had thought about it for two months. That was probably two months longer than he needed to think. He could see and we can see, he is way too moderate for the zeitgeist, despite being anti-Trump. His anti-Trump stance helped get him reelected to the US Senate.