Just a few months after the Democratic presidential race gained some speed, some of those candidates within the single-digit crowd are struggling. For some, it’s at the point to where they’re attempting to get the media to give them a second glance. Considering the fact that the political press devours strategy, the candidates are looking for a new approach, which of course is an admittance that the old strategy doesn’t work. So what’s the driving force behind this maneuver? Well, Joe Biden’s debut in the presidential race, of course. Currently, Biden is more than doubling Bernie Sanders in the surveys and pushing the competition out of his way in the process.
At any moment, Biden could stumble and fall behind, so the press is giving some of the other candidates a bit of attention. One story released by the AP had the headline” “Beto O’Rourke plans ‘reintroduction’ as 2020 buzz fizzles.” Beto O’Rourke jumped into the race “with breakneck energy and a fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants campaign style,” but the buzz has now “evaporated … He’s made few promises that resonated or produced headline-grabbing moments, instead driving around the country meeting with voters at mostly small events.”
According to an adviser, O’Rourke has been in a “quiet period” after losing to Ted Cruz, but “O’Rourke is planning to try again, taking a hands-on role in staging a ‘reintroduction.'” That introduction began with an interview O’Rourke had with Rachel Maddow last night and an appearance that he has today on “The View.”
Apparently, Beto attempted to run for president in the same way that he ran for Senate, with “small-scale retail politicking.” Of course, that doesn’t really work in a race on the national level. He intentionally turned down almost all of the TV invitations that he had received, which was clearly a mistake.
Too much of Beto’s candidacy was built on his “new-age” personality. Even though he was “just born to be in it,” Beto lost the media’s interest when he proved that he didn’t have too much to say on issues beyond an unrealistic massive plan for climate change. The cover story that Vanity Fair did on O’Rourke might just be the highlight of his campaign if he doesn’t get his act together very soon.
Another headline, but this time from the New York Times, read: “Kamala Harris Is Trying to Reset Her Campaign by Taking On Trump.” All of a sudden, the senator from California has set her aim on President Trump for bigotry, saying that he isn’t trying to make America great, but instead, he’s “trying to make America hate.”
According to the Times, Harris “was nodding to a political truth: She is attempting to reset her campaign after stagnating in Democratic primary polls, using her strengths as a prosecutor … to mount a sharp indictment of Mr. Trump.”
The Times also said that Harris has “found herself in a political vise, squeezed by competing factions in her party.” Even though she may have received some positive press for interrogating William Barr, she also made a huge stumble by embracing a Medicare-for-all bill that would take away private insurance. Harris attempted to take her words back on Sunday when she was speaking with Jake Tapper from CNN, but he wouldn’t let her off the hook.
Politico has joined the ranks, as well, quoting allies of Cory Booker who have complained that media outlets are being unfair to Booker by putting all of the love on Pete Buttigieg. These allies have based their premise on the fact that Mayor Buttigieg is white. Not only has Buttigieg come out as the only gay candidate, but he has also been forthright, personal, and clearly, interesting in all of his appearances. Unlike O’Rourke, Buttigieg has accepted several different television invites, causing him to gain traction to be boosted into third place.
According to the piece released by Politico, the people backing Booker have said that he has a great story as “a former Stanford college football player who is dating actress Rosario Dawson.” It’s obviously extremely difficult to stand out among 22 candidates, but since Biden has joined the race, things have become a lot harder for many of the candidates.
