As governor, Ron DeSantis took Florida back to Mississippi of the 1950s, proving he was a "Not Ready for Prime Time Player" on the presidential stage

Ron DeSantis ends his moribund presidential campaign

Has an American politician ever run as bad a presidential campaign as Ron DeSantis, whose hapless bid mercifully ended yesterday? Longtime Alabama attorney and political observer Donald Watkins appears to have concluded that the answer is no. Under the headline "Ron DeSantis: A Pathetic "Has-Been" Presidential Candidate," Watkins writes:

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis threw in the towel today (Sunday).  He dropped out of the 2024 presidential race.

DeSantis never had any substance as a Florida governor or presidential candidate.

DeSantis single-handedly turned the beautiful Sunshine state into a 1950s version of Mississippi.

DeSantis declared war on Mickey Mouse.  What political idiot does that?

Ouch! Those are some serious digs, which DeSantis richly deserves. But it gets worse, per Watkins:

DeSantis publicly told Black Floridians that the history of their ancestors was of no value to Floridians or anybody else.

DeSantis’ entire campaign focused on "anti-woke" issues like the diehard racists of the 1950s.  DeSantis took pride in being nothing more than a modern-day apostle of racial hatred.

During his two terms as Florida’s governor, DeSantis was never able to help homeowners in his state get affordable property insurance.  He never grew the state’s economy. He didn’t make a dent in improving the quality of the state’s public-education systems.

In short, Floridians were facing serious issues, and DeSantis failed to deliver solutions across the board. Nothing of substance happened, as if time stood still while DeSantis was in office. It was clear early on, Watkins states, that DeSantis was not up to the task of challenging Trump for president:

Donald Trump had DeSantis’ number all along.  Trump knew that DeSantis was a small-time punk, with the backbone of a jellyfish.

DeSantis' presidential run affirms this truism about most of today’s high-profile politicians: You cannot make chicken salad out of chicken shit, no matter how many PR ingredients you add to the dish.