Even by the absurd and tragicomic standards of Trump-era American politics, the 2024 presidential race is off to an unconventional start. President Biden’s impending re-election campaign has been overshadowed by Democratic angst over his approval ratings, age, and running mate’s political abilities; Trump, the de facto Republican frontrunner, may effectively start his campaign in handcuffs upon indictment by a Manhattan grand jury; Ron DeSantis, still largely unproven nationally, is only just starting to spar with his aforementioned G.O.P. adversary, and may be more of a donor fantasy than real primary threat. Finally, but for Nikki Haley and Vivek Ramaswamy, most of the would-be candidates have yet to declare. We are heading toward campaign season, no doubt about it, but we seem to be slouching there, with no clarity about what the next nineteen-and-a-half months will look like. That’s tragic, politically, but it’s media gold.