To get a whiff at how weak the Democrat candidate pool has become, get a load of California governor Jerry Brown's latest tease:

"I don't think I'm running for office," he quipped during a news conference as he stood on an unused Concord road flanked by by a sea of orange-vest-clad construction workers and more formally dressed politicians, including state Senate President pro Tem Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles and Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, D-Paramount (Los Angeles County).

"I only have lieutenant governor, treasurer and controller left," Brown said.

Someone in the crowed shouted out: "President."

"But I'd be 82 then," he said, pausing. "Don't rule it out."

Incredibly, it might just happen, given the shallowness of the Democratic Party's candidate pool and its emerging standard-bearers.  The loopy lunatic of off-the-wall popping off, Maxine Waters, seems to have moved into a position of leadership in this vortex.  Bernie Sanders, like Brown, pushing 80, is also in the running with a void.  Seventy-plus Hillary Clinton has gone New Nixon with the headline "Hillary Clinton wears leather, talks trash and blows a stop light."  The just-re-elected House party leader is badly aging Nancy Pelosi.  There are the smirking twerpy Castro brothers.  There is the hardcore abuser of power in party leader Tom Perez.  Then there are Muslim crazies like Keith Ellison to round out the stew.

Seriously, whom do they have?  Brown looks positively statesmanlike compared to this bar scene at Star Wars.

Yet Brown's record is not assuring.  He's a walking, talking invitation to illegal immigrants to come to the states.  His signature accomplishment is the cost overrun-plagued, overpromised, and under-delivered Bullet Train that few want anymore.  He remains the nation's biggest wacko on global warming and is constantly cooking up new taxes and insulting those who work for a living.  He absolutely failed to resolve California's water drought crisis (unlike his pop, Gov. Pat Brown, the visionary who designed the California aqueduct system to transport abundant water from the north to the parched south) and has made loopy "baptism" statements about the significance of water instead, living up to his Moonbeam nickname.  His budgets are disasters.  One wonders if he can make it to election time before the state gravy runs out.  Now he's talking pork-shoveling infrastructure for the state's crumbling highways as if he didn't like them crumbling in the name of global warming earlier.

Yet this is all the Democrats have got.  Yes, he's a smart. polished politician, and his health seems very vigorous – definitely enough to carry him through his 80s.  But his record shows one failure after another.  Perhaps the only thing for a conservative to say is "Run, Jerry, run."