Pearlman is a very competent political analyst.
The most effective ways to run for president are to stress fear or hope. These are simple emotions and hardly the most useful real issues, but we can count on every election being based on fear of the always unpredictable and uncertain future combined with a longing for the mythical "good ol' days" and hope for the future as an improvement of "this current mess". No matter how good or bad the situation of the country is, there are always some will always well see it as headed for disaster and others who think they will turn it into the "Shining City on the Hill".
