A charismatic, liberal-but-not-super-liberal black man is running for president. He has degrees from two of America’s most prestigious universities. He was a community organizer before serving in elected office. He was touted very early in his career as the potential first black president. He served a stint in local government before becoming one of the very few African-Americans ever elected to the U.S. Senate. And he is running on a message of optimism. Cory Booker announced that he is running for president via a video on Friday morning. He and Barack Obama are different people, of course — their resumes and race notwithstanding — but Booker’s most obvious electoral path to the Democratic nomination and the presidency is the same one Obama followed over a decade ago. CONT.
Perry Bacon Jr., FiveThirtyEight