William Henry Harrison, the ninth U.S. president, carried several distinctions including the last president to be born a British subject and the first to represent the Whig Party in the Oval Office. Furthermore, his inauguration speech went on record as the longest, nearly two hours, while his presidency, regrettably, ended as the shortest due to his demise after just 31 days in his role.
History also witnessed Harrison as the last political figure to experience a drawback in his initial presidential election followed by victory in the successive one. Preceding this, such an event occurred in the lives of esteemed leaders such as Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson. Richard Nixon faced a loss but only managed success much later.
There have been only two instances when a presidential candidate, Grover Cleveland and Donald Trump, had the experience of winning, losing, and ultimately gaining victory again. All others since Harrison’s reign with initial defeat and subsequent runs have tasted failure. Eminent examples include Democrat Adlai Stevenson and Republican Thomas Dewey who sustained double losses, and political stalwarts Henry Clay and William Jennings Bryan, who faced triple consecutive defeats. The lesson seems to be that voters harbor aversion towards loss.
These reflections hardly bring a ray of hope for Kamala Harris whose recent decision to renounce the running for the governorship position in California has stirred up conjectures of her aspiring for a Whitehouse appointment again. The existing state of Democratic Party appears to be in turmoil showing a drastic unpopularity with a net unfavorability of 30 points, nearly triple the GOP’s at 11 points.
The present condition of the Democratic Party reflects the worst popularity level in over three decades. The chief reason for this is the party members’ dissatisfaction with their party, both for previous defeats against Trump and for its current failure to create substantial resistance against him whilst in office.
The problem with Harris isn’t entirely hers. Interestingly, she seems to signify the Democratic Party’s disgruntlement. However, this dissatisfaction isn’t homogeneous. Among the progressives, the contention revolves around the belief that Democrats lack the intensity in their fight, while the central faction of the party perceives the contention as the Democrats’ misguided combat, focusing excessively on culture wars and identity politics.
However, the universal prerequisite bridging these two factions lies in their insatiable urge for victory. Harris was regarded as a possible 2024 nominee primarily due to her identification as a diverse candidate. Biden had explicitly mentioned his preference for a female candidate and later, an African American running mate.
Harris’ predicament doesn’t necessarily revolve around her race or gender, rather her incapacity to charm voters in a way that expands the Democratic coalition. The necessity for Democrats to secure triumph lies in their ability to persuade Trump advocates. Harris’ defeat did not stem from deficient Democratic participation, but because of her lack of allure to a rapidly evolving electorate.
Her dialogue echoed the narrow views of a dean of students at a petite liberal arts college. Apart from the issue of reproductive rights, her beliefs seemed like manufactured products from focus groups when voters were vigorously seeking authenticity. Adding to her own woes, Harris succumbed to Joe Biden’s request not to distance herself from him.
Her decision to choose ‘The Late Show’ with Stephen Colbert for her first interview post office was highly demonstrative. The show is well-known to captivate audiences devoted to ideological commitments. However, this is not the target audience Democrats aspire to impress in order to secure victory on their side.
Consequently, it seems possible that if Democrats nominate Harris again for the presidential run, history might only remember her as a trivia question. Moreover, it is uncertain if that trivia question will read as ‘Who was the 48th president of the United States?’ Sadly, Kamala Harris’ story reveals a cascade of failures, attributed not just to her own shortcomings, but also the broader issues demonstrating the continuously declining popularity of the Democratic Party.
The post Kamala Harris’ Presidential Hopes: A Trail of Failures appeared first on Real News Now.
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