William Henry Harrison, ninth in the lineup of American presidents, held a unique status as the last chief executive born under British rule and the first to claim the Whig Party’s victory colors. In a strange combination of extremes, he boasted the greatest inaugural speech length to date, spanning nearly two hours. However, his term did not match the length of his speech, with his presidency sadly cut short due to his passing just 31 days after his inauguration. Harrison also emerged as the final politician who tasted defeat in his initial presidential bid, only to snatch victory in the subsequent round. This achievement puts him on a short and distinctive list that includes Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson, with Richard Nixon pulling off a similar comeback years later.
Such historical political dynamics do not bode well for Kamala Harris. Harris recently declared she will not be vying for the governor’s position in California, an announcement that was seen as a signal for her potential return to the White House trail. Unfortunately, for her and the Democratic Party she represents, the leadership’s name has been dragged through the popular mud in recent times. Their favorability rating is currently staggering at a disappointing -30 points, which is almost triple in comparison to their GOP counterparts whose unfavorability stands at -11.
The Democrats’ rampant unpopularity has reached an all-time high, the worst dip in three and a half decades. This plummet in likability can be attributed to the growing disgruntlement within their ranks, for the party’s inability to tackle the bull by its horns during Trump’s reign and even post his presidency. Although the dissatisfaction is not direct fallout from Harris’ actions, it is symbolized by her and her apparent indifference to the core issues confronting the rank and file members of the party.
The division within the Democratic Party is not uniform. Progressive supporters complain that there is not enough fight in their party’s leadership. Simultaneously, the the more moderate members are concerned with the navigation of their party too far to the left, particularly on socio-cultural and identity issues. These varied concerns, nonetheless, converge on the singular, overarching desire for victory.
Interestingly, Kamala Harris’ spotlight as the potential nominee for the 2024 election comes off the back of her selection due to diversity considerations. The Democrats’ need to win at any cost overruled qualifications and experience, with Joe Biden expressly choosing a female and later an African-American as his running mate. Yet, Harris’ Achilles’ heel isn’t her racial or gender background; it’s her inability to broaden the Democratic Party’s electoral base and bring new voters into the fold.
To upend the Republican dominance, the Democrats need a candidate who can flip Trump’s voters— a task Harris failed to achieve spectacularly. Her electoral debacle was not due to a decrease in Democratic turnout; it was predominantly linked to her lack of appeal to voters in tune with the rapidly changing political landscape. She brings to mind an image of the dean of students at an obscure liberal arts college through her rhetoric— an image that is unfitting at a time when voters are yearning for authenticity.
Exacerbating her predicament, Harris unwillingly accepted Biden’s directive not to distance herself from him. Thus, she made a dubious choice to make her first appearance on ‘The Late Show’ with Stephen Colbert after resigning from office. While it’s an ideal move to charm Colbert’s ideologically-committed viewers, they are not the audience Democrats require to secure victory.
This is one of the main reasons that if Democrats pick Harris again as their nominee, she would probably be left languishing as a not-so-enchanting trivia response. The question surely wouldn’t be, ‘Who took the mantle as the 48th president of the United States?’
The post Harris’ 2024 Presidential Bid: Will History Repeat Its Precedent? appeared first on Real News Now.
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