So many polls, and supposedly definitive ones, give you the answer: economics is THE issue, one that far and way counts most in terms of who can win future elections. Especially presidential ones…
And here’s where your humble observer wishes to disagree, and sharply. To me economics is certainly a significant part of the puzzle, but the bigger one (excuse the pun) trumps it considerably.
And that is: who can move people more, appealing to them on an instinctual level. What have they got that others don’t have? A question worthy of the Wizard of Oz addressing a cowardly lion in dire need of courage. Well here’s what the ideal politician, particularly one running for president, should have in order to stand out from the pack: the ability to inspire.
Which was a prime facet of Mr. Trump’s improbable victory back in 2016, his close second-place finish in 2020, and then his smashing triumph over Kamala in ‘24. To go with his determination, willpower, and other such useful traits.
Devil’s advocate point nonetheless conceded: inspiration ain’t everything. Taking off from Edison (one part inspiration, the rest perspiration), you also need high work standards, a thick skin, and other attributes, in order to succeed in today’s political arena.
Yes, I do hear these contrary views loud and clear, and in one supportive example: was Joe Biden so inspirational in 2020 that he could thereby win the presidency? It beggars the imagination to say so! Well then, was a certain fix in for this paltry campaigner? We ain’t permitted to speculate on this, so we won’t!
Ms. Harris? She was indeed more inspiring than Joe, but when it came to the work part, the prep part, and so on, not so stellar; and her stolid VP choice helped sink her as well.
But back to inspirational verve as a way to victory in important races. We certainly saw that clearly in Mr. Mamdani’s New York mayoral triumph of Nov. ‘25. No question there: the man knows how to massage the masses, and not least, a well-educated swath of younger types who live and work in the Big Apple.
Before him there was the Bern, a bird of similar plumage, whose ideas may not work well, but were (and are) skillfully gift-wrapped and presented. Not to mention a still rising star, AOC, odd as that may seem to the objective out there.
Inspire and win? Not always, but it sure doesn’t hurt. An utter dullard, a plodding, pedestrian type has less chance for victory, or so it says here.
So: in the 2028 presidentials, Gavin Newsom? Definitely in the inspirational running. Smooth as silk, and mellifluous as all get-out. Versus a quite possible JD Vance?
Well I have a fair bit of admiration for the latter, especially having read his “Hillbilly Elegy” (and do disregard the flick crafted from that riveting memoir). Mr. Vance is bright, resolute, and generally well prepared; but an inspirer? Not so much, and probably less so than Newsom, which could spell GOP trouble in the next race for the Oval Office.
Yet we keep on hearing, almost ad nauseam, that it’s the economy, stupid! That supposedly matters most in the electoral arena.
Oh yeah? Mr. Trump’s admin has significantly reduced the price of gas and other vital commodities, compared to what they were in the era of Biden-inflicted inflation. But people still aren’t satisfied?
In fact, what’s really starting to fade is … Trump’s OWN inspirational ability. He’s already made a great number of speeches. He’s plainly getting old. This is his final stint in office. He’ll soon be labeled, if not already, a “lame duck.”
Even if inflation dives downward to negligible territory, and if America manufactures much more than in recent memory, it may not suffice. Too many forget how the Bidenistas operated in the dollars and cents league, and too many will take completely for granted significant Trumpian gains in that regard (with more certainly en route).
In sum: get some new aspirational AND inspirational candidate spiffed up for the ’28 presidentials? The Dems already seem to have that strategy in mind, and to make it a good contest, so must the GOP. I tell you this: they ignore the present gent’s take at their peril! (Vain as that sounds!)