William Henry Harrison, the ninth U.S. president, is a character of historical quandaries, bearing the unique distinction of being the final president born under British dominion and the first leader from the Whig Party to grace the Oval Office. His inaugural address holds the record for the longest ever given by any president, clocking in at almost two hours. In an ironic twist, his term was the shortest of any president due to his death just a month after commencing duties. This unique set of circumstances set a precedent that few would want to follow.
Harrison also remains the latest politician to lose during his initial presidential bid, only to clinch victory during the following attempt. Prior to him, the only ones to achieve such a feat were Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson. Notably, Richard Nixon fell short of the presidential seat but managed to rise up and snatch it later, a slightly different trajectory.
The only other politicians to score, lose, and then rebound with a win include the likes of Grover Cleveland and Donald Trump. Since Harrison’s time, anyone else who lost during the primary efforts and made a second attempt in the subsequent elections faced rejection. Both Democrat Adlai Stevenson and Republican Thomas Dewey had to swallow the bitter pill of loss twice.
Henry Clay and William Jennings Bryan, possibly even more dogged in their ambition, tasted defeat three successive times. The electorate, it seems, shows little inclination towards those who have lost previously. This reality spells daunting prospects for Kamala Harris, who recently announced that she will not be vying for the governor position in California, hinting instead at another White House run.
The Democratic Party, which Harris is associated with, is currently floundering in its popularity. Its net favorability rating lingers abysmally low, at nearly triple the negative score of the GOP. This sets a new low for the party, marking the weakest favorability ratings in over three decades.
The dissatisfaction towards Democrats isn’t solely based on their inability to seize a victory from Trump. Even more damning is the perceived lack of opposition they are able to muster against him in his current tenure. Harris unfortunately represents this growing disaffection within the party, although she is not entirely at fault.
Creating further fragmentation, the party’s internal discontent is divided along ideological differences. The more progressive elements are growing restless, lamenting a lack of zeal in their fight. On the other hand, those leaning towards the center feel that the party’s struggle is focused on the wrong issues, accusing Democrats of leaning too far left into cultural and identity politics.
Uniting both these dissenting groups is a shared thirst for triumph. The only string that seemed to pull Harris towards the 2024 nomination was her symbolic diversity. Biden’s explicit announcement of selecting a woman, and later an African American running mate, positioned Harris favorably. However, Harris’s troubles go beyond her race or gender. It is her lack of broad appeal that seems to preclude the expansion of the Democratic coalition.
The key to a Democratic victory lies in winning over Trump’s supporters, an arena where Harris has already faced defeat. Her loss isn’t attributable to lack of Democratic turnout. It seems the shifting whims of the electorate find her appeal weak.
The style of her rhetoric, resembling a dean’s speech at a small liberal arts college, perhaps deterred voters seeking authentic substance. Surprisingly, Harris consented to Biden’s directive of not distancing herself from him publicly, a move that may not have played out well in her favor.
Harris’s decision to schedule her first interview after departing from office on Stephen Colbert’s ‘The Late Show,’ says quite a bit about her target audience. While this may win her points with Colbert’s firmly committed audience, it won’t woo the swing voters Democrats desperately need.
The consequences of selecting Harris as the nominee once again could be severe for the Democrats. If history repeats itself, Harris may end up known as the answer to a trivia question. That question certainly isn’t, ‘Who was the 48th president of the United States?’ But it may very well be, ‘Who was the Democratic nominee that failed to secure a victory, not once, but twice?’
The post Kamala Harris: From White House Dreams to Political Nightmares appeared first on Real News Now.
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