William Henry Harrison, the ninth president of the USA, was the final commander in chief born a British topic and the primary member of the Whig Celebration to win the White Home. He delivered the longest inaugural deal with in historical past, practically two hours, and had the shortest presidency, being the primary sitting president to die in workplace, simply 31 days into his time period.
Oh, there may be another little bit of trivia in regards to the man who gave us the slogan “Tippecanoe and Tyler Too.” Harrison was the final politician to lose his first presidential election after which win the following one (Thomas Jefferson and Andrew Jackson managed that earlier than him). Richard Nixon misplaced solely to win means down the street. (Grover Cleveland and Trump are the one two to win, lose after which win once more.)
Everybody else since Harrison’s period who misplaced on the primary attempt to ran once more within the subsequent election misplaced once more. Democrat Adlai Stevenson and Republican Thomas Dewey ran twice and misplaced twice. Henry Clay and William Jennings Bryan every ran 3 times in a row and misplaced (Clay ran on three totally different celebration tickets). Voters, it appears, don’t like losers.
These usually are not encouraging outcomes for Kamala Harris, who introduced final week she is not going to be working for governor in California, sparking hypothesis that she desires one other go on the White Home.
However historical past isn’t what she ought to fear about. It’s the right here and now. The Democratic Celebration is wildly unpopular. It’s web favorability ( 30 factors) is sort of triple the GOP’s (11 factors). The Democratic Celebration is extra unpopular than any time within the final 35 years. When Donald Trump’s unpopularity with Democrats needs to be having the other impact, 63% of People have an unfavorable view of the celebration.
Why? As a result of Democrats are mad at their very own celebration — each for shedding to Trump and for failing to offer a lot of an impediment to him now that he’s in workplace. As my Dispatch colleague Nick Cattogio places it, “Even Democrats have discovered to hate Democrats.”
It’s not all Harris’ fault. Certainly, the lion’s share of the blame goes to Joe Biden and the coterie of enablers who inspired him to run once more.
Harris’ dilemma is that she symbolizes Democratic discontent with the celebration. That discontent isn’t monolithic. For progressives, the objection is that Democrats aren’t combating exhausting sufficient. For the extra centrist wing of the celebration, the issue is the Democrats are combating for the mistaken issues, having lurched too far left on tradition warfare and identification politics. Uniting each factions is visceral want to win. That’s awkward for a politician greatest identified for shedding.
Virtually the one cause Harris was positioned to be the nominee in 2024 was that she was a range decide. Biden was express that he would decide a girl and, later, an African American working mate. And the identical dynamic made it unattainable to sideline her when Biden withdrew.
After all, most Democrats don’t see her race and gender as an issue, and within the summary they shouldn’t. Certainly, each VP decide is a range decide, together with the white guys. Working mates are chosen to enchantment to some a part of a coalition.
So Harris’ downside isn’t her race or intercourse; it’s her lack of ability to enchantment to voters in a means that expands the Democratic coalition. For Democrats to win, they want somebody who can flip Trump voters. She didn’t lose due to low Democratic turnout, she misplaced as a result of she’s uncompelling to a altering citizens.
Her gauzy, usually gaseous, rhetoric made her sound like a dean of scholars at a small liberal arts school. Apart from reproductive rights, her convictions appeared like they had been crafted by focus teams, at a time when voters craved authenticity. Worse, Harris acquiesced to Biden’s insistence she not distance herself from him.
Such clubby deference to the institution mixed with boilerplate pandering to progressive constituencies — discovered from years of San Francisco and California politics — makes her the right resolution to an issue that doesn’t exist.
Her selection to seem on Stephen Colbert’s “The Late Present” for her first interview since leaving workplace was telling. CBS not too long ago introduced it was terminating each Colbert and the present, insisting it was purely a enterprise determination. However the cause for the printed community’s determination stemmed partially from the truth that Colbert narrow-casts his costly present to a really small, very anti-Trump slice of the citizens.
“I don’t wish to return into the system. I believe it’s damaged,” Harris lamented to Colbert, decrying the “naïve” and “feckless” lack of “management” and the “capitulation” of those that “think about themselves to be guardians of our system and our democracy.”
That’s all catnip to Colbert’s ideologically dedicated viewers. However that’s not the viewers Democrats have to win. And that’s why, if Democrats nominate her once more, she’ll in all probability go down in historical past as a solution to a trivia query. And it gained’t be “Who was the forty eighth president of the USA?”
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Concepts expressed within the piece
- The Democratic Celebration faces historic unpopularity, with a web favorability 30 factors decrease than Republicans, pushed by widespread dissatisfaction amongst its personal base over losses to Trump and perceived ineffectiveness in opposing his insurance policies[1].
- Kamala Harris’ political challenges stem from inner Democratic factions: progressives blame her for inadequate combat whereas centrists view her as emblematic of leftward shifts on cultural points, each detractors united by a want to win[1].
- Harris’s VP choice was seen as a diversity-driven symbolic gesture by Biden, limiting her potential to construct broader enchantment past conventional Democratic coalitions, as seen in her 2024 loss[1].
- Her communication type is criticized as overly generic and focus-group-driven, missing authenticity required to draw Trump voters, whereas her ties to Biden and reluctance to distance herself from his management are seen as electoral liabilities[1].
- Historic precedents recommend candidates who lose as soon as not often regain viability in subsequent elections, with Harris’ potential 2028 bid seen skeptically in mild of this sample[1].
- Democratic messaging below Harris dangers pandering to area of interest progressive audiences (e.g., her Colbert interview enchantment) fairly than increasing outreach to swing voters, exacerbating perceptions of elitism[1].
Totally different views on the subject
- Harris stays a robust potential front-runner within the 2026 California governor’s race, with analysts noting her viability regardless of a crowded discipline and lingering questions on Biden’s well being influencing her decision-making[1].
- The Democratic Celebration is actively reassessing its technique post-2024, specializing in reconnecting with working-class voters and addressing core points like affordability and homelessness, suggesting a shift towards pragmatic problem-solving[1].
- Harris’ announcement to forgo the governor’s race has been interpreted as positioning for a 2028 presidential bid, reflecting her potential to navigate political calculations with long-term ambition[2].
- Inner criticisms, resembling Antonio Villaraigosa’s demand for transparency on Biden’s well being, mirror broader celebration debates about management accountability fairly than a rejection of Harris’ Senate or VP legacy[1].
- Different rising Democratic voices, like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Gov. Tim Walz, embody options to Harris’ messaging, indicating the celebration’s capability to diversify management past established figures[2].
