Twice the Obamas have given the United States a donald trump. The first, in 2016, after two terms that increased dissatisfaction with the supposed elitism of the Democratic Party and the perception that the outgoing president wanted to impose, by obligation, Hillary Clinton as successor. And now, with a failed strategy orchestrated by Obama and his close circle so that his friend, the vice president Kamala Harriswith low popularity and without having won a single primary, achieved an electoral victory in an election in which the economy and fatigue with identity politics were decisive.
The disquiet of Obama and the Democrats had been evident for days, if not weeks. On October 17, the former president attended a funeral at St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Washington, where he met with Joe Biden in front of the cameras. In the captured conversation, Biden seemed somewhere between absent and annoyed, while Obama shook his head and stated: “I have to go out with her more.”
And he did it. Obama traveled half the country participating in rallies, while his wife, Michelle, made a passionate call in Michigan in defense of the future of children. He even chastised African-American men, suggesting that they were not as committed to a candidate of their race as they should be. The two, husband and wife, used their contacts and mobilized well-known figures: Oprah Winfrey, Julia Roberts, George Clooney, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Cardi B, Taylor Swift, Bad Bunny and Jennifer Lopez.
However, the problems of the stars are not the problems of ordinary citizens. The elections were not decided by Lady Gaga’s recital in Philadelphia or Julia Roberts’ recorded message, encouraging women to vote secretly from their husbands, as if it were a Netflix movie. The strategy of leaving graffiti in women’s bathrooms encouraging sorority to counteract patriarchy turned out to be an idea.
What weighed was the reality of inflation: the shopping basket is unaffordable, a coffee costs more than five dollars in many places, and a kilo of oranges costs ten dollars. These economic issues were absent in Obama’s message and in the speeches of the stars, who promoted Kamala Harris as the protagonist of a fairy tale ‘made in Hollywood’, going from poverty in Oakland to the presidency as ‘Madam President ‘.
Biden’s new sacrifice
The Democratic strategy failed, and now several theories about the error are circulating, fueling a true internal war in the party. The most popular version in Washington attributes the failure to Biden. After all, the outgoing president has already been sacrificed once and is expected to shoulder the responsibility again. From the Obama circle it is argued that Biden promised to be a one-term president, but he broke that promise, remained in power and blocked the party from the possibility of primaries that would have allowed the election of a candidate with more support.
For his part, Biden has always maintained that he was the best candidate to beat Trump, having done so once against all odds. In addition, his profile fits well with voters: a white working-class man, originally from the Midwest and over 60 years old. However, the polls were unfavorable to him, especially after his poor performance in the June debate.
Showing his annoyance, he announced that he had spoken with Harris by phone on Tuesday. No washing his face, no unity in times of pain.
Another Democratic faction, the more progressive left, points out that the profile of the Trump voter, a white man with little formal education, limited income and worried about making ends meet, naturally aligns with figures like Senator Bernie Sanders or the congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The left takes advantage of the crisis to promote its agenda, pointing out that they could capture this segment of the population.
The truth is that voters, according to surveys and testimonies collected by correspondents of this newspaper at rallies and at the exit, have repeatedly expressed their concern about inflation, high gasoline prices and wage stagnation in the face of the increase in the cost of basic goods.
Without a clear proposal
Democrats failed to present a clear proposal beyond allowing abortion in states that restrict it and protecting democracy broadly. There is a deep suspicion towards political correctness and ‘woke’, that is, towards what many perceive as dogmatism on issues of gender, identity and environmentalism, associated with censorship and intolerance.
Harris did not want or did not know how to distance herself from these issues, nor from the burden that Biden’s unpopularity represents. When he was asked on the show The View what he would have done differently if he had been Biden, he missed the opportunity by answering a phrase that Trump was quick to take advantage of: “No, I can’t think of anything right now.”
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