Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) will jump into the race for the 2020 Democrat presidential nomination tomorrow. She will do so in Lawrence, Massachusetts, a city deeply mired in the opioid crisis that has enveloped the entire nation.

The choice of Lawrence is strategic, as is most everything that politicians do. If Warren really wanted to make an impact she should have returned to her native Oklahoma, where she could have issued a heartfelt apology for appropriating the culture of the Cherokee people for her personal gain and then lying about it.

Warren has apologized at least three times that I am aware of for the mess she finds herself in, but those apologies deflect responsibility for her actions away from her lapse of judgment to her family members, who she blames for filling her with stories about her ancestry. In other words, Warren has refused to accept responsibility for what she has done.

As Elizabeth Warren begins the long and arduous journey for her party's nomination, she does so with a monkey on her back. Warren's inability to address the ongoing and widening controversy hobbles that effort before it begins.

It will be difficult going forward for Warren to refocus attention to her candidacy since she has been unable to move past the scandal and is unwilling to take ownership of it.

Elizabeth Warren should consider postponing her planned announcement about her candidacy for the presidency and begin the process of attempting to regain the trust of the American people. If she is unable to do so, her candidacy will be short-lived.

Barry Richard is the host of The Barry Richard Show on 1420 WBSM New Bedford. He can be heard weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. Contact him at barry@wbsm.com and follow him on Twitter @BarryJRichard58. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author. 

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