Quite what lies behind the reports that Michelle Obama could run for the presidency I do not know. What we have seen is a fair amount of speculation in the US media in the past 24 hours.But the betting markets, as the Smarkets chart shows, illustrates Michelle’s populaarity.

Biden’s big problem is age. He’ll be 82 in November when the election takes place and there is little doubt about Michelle Obama’s popularity. Her husband, Barack, can’t run again having served two full terms already.

The problem for the Democrats is that there are not that many other major figures in the party. The current VP, Kamala /Harris, has never quite cut the mustard.

My own choice if not Biden is Pete Buttigieg – the current transportation secretary.

Mike Smithson