# Is Kamala Harris the most disappointing candidate ever? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** kamala-harris\ **Created:** [December 3, 2019, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-the-most-disappointing-candidate-ever/844296 "2019-12-03T03:56:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2019, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-the-most-disappointing-candidate-ever/844296/61 "2019-12-04T19:32:05Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > Because **HurricaneDitka** is a conservative. Therefore, the tears are sweeter when a liberal candidate fails. > > I like Harris. I can actually see her as a VP candidate if Mayor Pete were to get the nomination. She’s got experience, she could help shore up his support among the African American community, and she may appeal to some women voters who may be a little disheartened by the number of old, white men in the race. All the leftist women voters i know would rather vote for anyone else than the last young non-white woman left in the race. Because (Puts on reading glasses) “CNN said she’s evil.” ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2019, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-the-most-disappointing-candidate-ever/844296/62 "2019-12-04T19:57:14Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > Yea. I bet folks these days just use their own car or Uber… never public transportation. > > What? Was this meant to be snark? If not, the issue of busing was a plan to reduce segregation in public schools. It hasn’t been a national issue since the 1970s. Except for the debate, the only times I’ve heard about bussing since history class is when watching old 1970s sitcoms ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2019, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-the-most-disappointing-candidate-ever/844296/63 "2019-12-04T19:58:27Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > All the leftist women voters i know would rather vote for anyone else than the last young non-white woman left in the race. Because (Puts on reading glasses) “CNN said she’s evil.” There’s plenty of reasons not to vote for Tulsi, not just CNN commentary. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2019, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-the-most-disappointing-candidate-ever/844296/64 "2019-12-05T03:09:15Z")
Here’s CNN on lingering societal questions about Harris’s run: [America still doesn't know how to talk about Kamala Harris | CNN Politics](https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/04/politics/kamala-harris-race-history/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2019, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-the-most-disappointing-candidate-ever/844296/65 "2019-12-05T04:52:06Z")
> [@dalej42](#): > > Was this meant to be snark? If not, the issue of busing was a plan to reduce segregation in public schools. It hasn’t been a national issue since the 1970s. Except for the debate, the only times I’ve heard about bussing since history class is when watching old 1970s sitcoms No, I think he understood my point, which you would agree with - busing is ancient history and not something that most people know or care about as debate fodder. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2019, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-the-most-disappointing-candidate-ever/844296/66 "2019-12-05T05:52:17Z")
> [@Superdude](#): > > If we listen to _only_ minority voters, perhaps. I don’t think Biden wins the nomination, but I think that Harris gets serious consideration as a VP pick Given her background, Attorney General might be a better fit. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2019, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-the-most-disappointing-candidate-ever/844296/67 "2019-12-05T07:03:28Z")
As a writer at 538 said, the scouts just got it wrong about her. She just wasn’t that good: > **[Why Kamala Harris’s Campaign Failed](https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/why-kamala-harriss-campaign-failed/)** > > Kamala Harris dropped out of the presidential race on Tuesday, and she’s probably the most significant candidate to do so to date. The senator from California w… He makes the same point about Rubio. IMO, there’s an element of modern day racism in all this. You don’t see white candidates get hyped this way. Every young minority is a potential superstar but as with white people, most are actually just mediocre politicians. And they end up getting exposed before they are ready for prime time because they got talked by the media into running too soon. Which in the long run makes it impossible to get a minority President unless they have Barack Obama talents. They can’t all be Barack Obama. Most are just… Marco Rubio. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2019, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-the-most-disappointing-candidate-ever/844296/68 "2019-12-05T17:23:52Z")
I wouldn’t call it racism so much as marketing errors. ---
**Author:** ![Lance\_Turbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lance_turbo/32/6156_2.png) [@Lance\_Turbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lance_Turbo)\ **Post date:** [December 5, 2019, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-the-most-disappointing-candidate-ever/844296/69 "2019-12-05T18:38:31Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > He makes the same point about Rubio. IMO, there’s an element of modern day racism in all this. You don’t see white candidates get hyped this way. Every young minority is a potential superstar but as with white people, most are actually just mediocre politicians. And they end up getting exposed before they are ready for prime time because they got talked by the media into running too soon. Which in the long run makes it impossible to get a minority President unless they have Barack Obama talents. They can’t all be Barack Obama. Most are just… Marco Rubio. I’m glad you brought up Rubio. You were absolutely in love with that guy and there’s no way in the world that Kamala Harris disappointed **you** more than Marco Rubio did. > [@The Great Un-Fork Hillary Thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-great-un-fork-hillary-thread/717458/670): > > If it’s Rubio, I predict he’ll own a 60% rating around the time of the convention. This isn’t a crazy prediction. Hilariously crazy prediction. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2019, 5:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-the-most-disappointing-candidate-ever/844296/70 "2019-12-06T05:37:27Z")
Now Biden’s saying nice things about her - but then, he can afford to: [Joe Biden: 'Of course' I would consider Kamala Harris as VP pick | CNN Politics](https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/04/politics/joe-biden-kamala-harris-vp-pick/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2019, 9:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-the-most-disappointing-candidate-ever/844296/71 "2019-12-06T09:11:43Z")
> [@Lance\_Turbo](#): > > I’m glad you brought up Rubio. You were absolutely in love with that guy and there’s no way in the world that Kamala Harris disappointed **you** more than Marco Rubio did. Rubio has potential, just like Harris. He ran too soon and disappointed. I was interested in Harris too. Until I started following her on Twitter, and then my reaction was “Oh my goodness this is one shallow person.” ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2019, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-the-most-disappointing-candidate-ever/844296/72 "2019-12-06T16:02:12Z")
> [@Locrian](#): > > I can’t get why she was an actual candidate. She has great policies, good on gun control, but flip-flopped on that, IMO. > > I still think if the goal is to beat the Orange Crowd, then a woman can’t be the candidate in this election. Kamala would make a great cabinet member after this election and help move forward women in politics. But I just don’t think she can start at the top. And no, I don’t think she’s qualified in foreign policy to swing it. I’ll vote for her again in CA. She’s fantastic, just not the woman that can beat the GOP. How is she a great cabinet member, aside from her genitalia? She is not particularly wonky about stuff (her sister Maya is way wonkier than her). ---
**Author:** ![Damuri\_Ajashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/898d66/32.png) [@Damuri\_Ajashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damuri_Ajashi)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2019, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-the-most-disappointing-candidate-ever/844296/73 "2019-12-06T16:05:44Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > Hell, there’s 16 candidates still, and all but five or six of them are toast. (Can we at least get Delaney and Bennet to drop out? Talk about guys who won’t take “nobody’s paying the least bit of attention to you” for an answer.) > > Glad you mentioned Rudy, because I think Rudy 911 may have been the most disappointing candidate ever. Looked formidable heading into the 2008 cycle - universal name recognition, good approval ratings, raised plenty of money IIRC - but the voters weren’t interested in him, so he skipped Iowa, then skipped NH, etc. Ultimately didn’t skip Florida, crashed and burned there, and that was the end for his Presidential aspirations. > > Whatever other criticisms I may have of Joe Biden, I’ll always think well of him for doing his part to kill Rudy’s candidacy with his “[a noun, a verb, and 9/11](https://www.politico.com/blogs/ben-smith/2007/10/a-noun-a-verb-and-9-11-003927)” line. I had high hopes for Rudy Guiliani. He went from being a fairly liberal Rockerfeller Republican to a nucking futz Republican on the national stage. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2019, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-the-most-disappointing-candidate-ever/844296/74 "2019-12-06T18:19:51Z")
For Rudy, I think that 2008 was just too long and people had 9/11 fatigue by then. Endless wars in the Middle East had replaced rally around the flag. And IA Republicans are very evangelical so that wasn’t going to be his strong spot. Rubio still has the problem of looking like a high school kid wearing his father’s suit for a presentation. He’s the furtherest thing from a policy wonk and trying to appeal to the young by constantly mentioning Uber and Air BNB isn’t going to work in a Republican primary dominated by older voters. But he’s also awful with the fire and brimstone evangelical stuff and was exposed as the Marco bot with canned lines about Obama. He’s probably got that senate seat for a while since his next election would be in 2022. I think he’s done with national politics unless he gets a lot of help. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2019, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-the-most-disappointing-candidate-ever/844296/75 "2019-12-06T19:01:31Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > How is she a great cabinet member, aside from her genitalia? > > She is not particularly wonky about stuff (her sister Maya is way wonkier than her). Haven’t you posted this about all women democratic politicians? If you search here for “Her genitalia” you will get a dozen hits for you. What’s up with the vagina shaming? ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2019, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-the-most-disappointing-candidate-ever/844296/76 "2019-12-06T20:41:24Z")
> [@Damuri\_Ajashi](#): > > I had high hopes for Rudy Guiliani. He went from being a fairly liberal Rockerfeller Republican to a nucking futz Republican on the national stage. That’s because any Gops who aren’t now “nucking futz” are RINOs or traitors to the activist base that determines political survival. Faux Nuuz is their national stage within a circus tent, a stage complete with hooks, trapdoors, trapezes, red clown cars, dancing vampire elephants, and enough snarky female flesh to stock a Tramp beauty pageant, but more vicious. Rockefeller now would be a Socialist on Faux. Look at his gun law! Most pathetic candidate? The worst I recall was Goldwater, whom I supported. But I was oh so young then. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [December 6, 2019, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-the-most-disappointing-candidate-ever/844296/77 "2019-12-06T22:39:59Z")
> [@RioRico](#): > > That’s because any Gops who aren’t now “nucking futz” are RINOs or traitors to the activist base that determines political survival. Faux Nuuz is their national stage within a circus tent, a stage complete with hooks, trapdoors, trapezes, red clown cars, dancing vampire elephants, and enough snarky female flesh to stock a Tramp beauty pageant, but more vicious. Rockefeller now would be a Socialist on Faux. Look at his gun law! > > Most pathetic candidate? The worst I recall was Goldwater, whom I supported. But I was oh so young then. Goldwater won the 1964 nomination. He’s no more pathetic than McGovern or Mondale, they all got crushed but won the nomination. I’m sticking only to 1960-2016 for my sample. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [December 7, 2019, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-the-most-disappointing-candidate-ever/844296/78 "2019-12-07T00:10:10Z")
Giuliani wasn’t a disappointment because everyone knew he was way out of step with his party ideologically before the race even got started. His early polling leads were strictly reputation and name recognition. Now that’s not to say he could have done a lot better than he did. But it was always going to be an uphill climb for him. ---
**Author:** ![Yankees\_1996\_Champs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Yankees\_1996\_Champs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yankees_1996_Champs)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2019, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-the-most-disappointing-candidate-ever/844296/79 "2019-12-08T22:39:13Z")
> [@Lamoral](#): > > I would be astonished if more than 25% of America’s population even knows what busing is. Exactly. It was a stupid, foolish move. No, she was never going to win the nomination. Kamala Harris is AG material, not presidential material. ---
**Author:** ![Yankees\_1996\_Champs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Yankees\_1996\_Champs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yankees_1996_Champs)\ **Post date:** [December 8, 2019, 10:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-the-most-disappointing-candidate-ever/844296/80 "2019-12-08T22:41:21Z")
Also, the “Kamala is a cop” crap did not damage her campaign. Prosecutors are supposed to prosecute. What derailed her was her having no messaege [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-the-most-disappointing-candidate-ever/844296.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-kamala-harris-the-most-disappointing-candidate-ever/844296.md?page=5)