Barabak: Did Kamala Harris just destroy her 2028 chances?

Democrats despite their hypersensitive bleeding-heart reputation can be harsh Ruthless even When it comes to picking their presidential nominee it s often one and done Walter Mondale Michael Dukakis Al Gore and John Kerry were embraced and then after leading their party to disappointing defeat cast off like so various wads of wet tissue Compare that with Republicans who not only believe in second chances but more often than not seem to prefer their presidential candidates recycled Over the last half century all but a scant of the GOP s nominees have had at least one failed White House bid on their resume The roster of retreads includes the current occupant of the Oval Office who is only the second president in U S history to regain the perch after losing it four years prior Why the difference It would take a psychologist or geneticist to determine if there s something in the minds or molecular makeup of party faithful which could explain their varied remedy of those humbled and vanquished Regardless it suggests the blowback facing Kamala Harris and the campaign diary she published is happening right on cue And it doesn t portend well for another try at the White House in should the former vice president and U S senator from California pursue that path The criticism has come in assorted flavors Joe Biden loyalists several of whom were never great fans of Harris have bristled at her relatively mild criticisms of the obviously aged and physically declining president She leaves it to her husband former Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff to vent about the impossible expletive jobs Harris was given and in spite of that the failure of the president and first lady to defend Harris during her low points The notable lack of self-blame has rankled other Democrats Aside from several couldas and shouldas Harris largely ascribes her defeat to insufficient time to make her affair to voters just days the title of her book which hardly sits well with those who feel Harris squandered the time she did have More generally selected Democrats fault the former vice president for resurfacing period rather than slinking off and disappearing forever into chosen deep dark hole It s a familiar gripe each time the party struggles to move past a presidential defeat Hillary Clinton faced a similar backlash when she published her inside account after losing to Donald Trump in That critique assumes great masses of voters devour campaign memoirs with the same voracious appetite as those who surrender their Sundays to the Beltway chat shows or mainline political news like a continuous IV drip They do not Let the record show Democrats won the White House in even though Clinton bobbed back up in and for a short while thwarted the party s fervent desire to turn the page But there are those avid consumers of campaigns and elections and for the political fiends among us Harris offers plenty of fizz much of it involving her party peers and prospective rivals Pete Buttigieg the meteoric star of the campaign was her heartfelt choice for vice president but Harris noted she feared the combination of a Black woman and gay running mate would exceed the load-bearing threshold of the electorate News to me Buttigieg declared after Harris revealed her thinking and an underestimation of the American people Pennsylvania Gov Josh Shapiro the runner-up to Harris ultimate vice presidential pick Minnesota Gov Tim Walz comes across as unseemly salivating and greedily lusting after the job He fired back by suggesting Harris has particular splainin to do about what she knew of Biden s infirmities and when she knew it Harris implies Govs JB Pritzker and Gretchen Whitmer of Illinois and Michigan respectively were insufficiently gung-ho after Biden stepped aside and she became the Democratic nominee-in-waiting But the greater part toothsome morsel involves Harris longtime frenemy California Gov Gavin Newsom The two who rose to political power in the early s on parallel tracks in San Francisco have long had a complicated relationship mixing mutual aid with jealousy and jostling In her book Harris recounts the hours after Biden s sudden withdrawal when she began telephoning top Democrats around the country to lock in their advocacy In contrast to the enthusiasm a great number of displayed Newsom responded tersely with a text message Hiking Will call back He never did Harris noted pointedly though Newsom did issue a full-throated endorsement within hours which the former vice president failed to mention It s small-bore stuff But the fact Harris chose to include that anecdote speaks to the tetchiness underlying the warmth and fuzziness that California s two most of prominent Democrats put on society display Will the two face off in Riding the promotional circuit Harris has repeatedly sidestepped the inevitable questions about another doable presidential bid That s not my focus right now she informed Rachel Maddow in a standard-issue non-denial denial For his part Newsom is obviously running though he won t say so There would be something operatic or at least soap-operatic about the two longtime competitors openly vying for the country s ultimate political prize though it s hard to see Democrats with their persistent hunger for novelty turning to Harris or her left-coast political doppelganger as their savior Meantime the two are back on parallel tracks though seemingly headed in opposite directions While Newsom is looking to build Democratic bridges Harris is burning hers down Mark Z Barabak is a columnist for the Los Angeles Times Tribune News Organization