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What Democrats need is (lowercase) charismatic leaders, and a focus on success. [1]

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Date: 2025-02-07

Democrats need two things to win future elections.

(Three, if you count the requirement that fair elections actually be held. I’m not sure how that’s looking right now. I would like to hear from Marc Elias or someone from that perspective about the level of protection that exists for fair elections in 2026 and 2028, in light of recent Executive Branch actions.)

But right now, I’m going to assume fair elections, simply for the purposes of this discussion. If nothing else, having a plan for victory in fair elections, probably provides more energy to ensure that those actually happen.

So here is what Democrats need.

1. (Lowercase) charismatic leaders.

We do not need an uppercase “Charismatic Leader” like Kim Jong Un, Donald Trump, etc.

We just need a normal person who happens to have a passion for leadership and communication with the American people. Like Barack Obama did.

Joe Biden did not have this.

Joe Biden was “a sad figure on the stage”—as site founder Markos described him, in 2020, before he became the nominee. No, his demeanor did not miraculously change after receiving the Democratic nomination. For those who were not committed partisans, Biden spent his entire four years in the Oval Office as a sad figure on the stage. Maybe he governed well, maybe he didn’t, but he never inspired people, nor gave the impression he was a strong leader.

Kamala Harris did not entirely have this charismatic quality, although going forward, we’ll see. I don’t fault her campaign. But I observe that in the years prior to her campaign, as 2020 candidate and then Vice President, she did not create a strong profile for herself. A charismatic leader would most likely have done this. So I feel we still need to see more from Kamala in this regard.

For the record, Hillary Clinton did not have this. Even though I supported her. She perhaps had a passion for political leadership, but she did not have a passion for communicating with the American people. Of course, I mention this because she is part of the history of Trump’s path to power.

In 2028, Democrats need a charismatic leader to take the banner and connect with the American people. From the election standpoint, that is more important than their stances on issues. Look at Trump. He is all over the map on ‘issues’, and changes from day to day. But people vote for him.

I myself have strong opinions on certain issues. But I am here to tell you that in a candidate, passion, charisma and communication skills are more important than issues.

Most voters don’t really know what they want. But come election time, they will decide who they want.

2. A focus on success.

Democrats need to jettison the baggage that is not bringing them to success. Similarly, in their governing approach, they need to jettison the baggage that is not bringing the country to success.

In the few times I caught one of Biden’s Presidential addresses, the sign language translater was right there on the screen next to him. This was surely a massive victory for proponents of American Sign Language (ASL). Unfortunately, that is a tiny fraction of the electorate. Meanwhile, this approach detracted massively from the visual impact of Biden’s message as President. A simple link to the ASL video feed, distributed by social media in advance to interested communities, would have more than sufficed, without sacrificing Biden’s visual presentation to the nation (and the world) as a whole.

I provide this as an example of what it means for Democrats to jettison the concepts that do not lead to success.

Similarly, Biden’s attempt at massive student loan forgiveness was myopic. If the goal is to provide financial relief to the country in the wake of the pandemic, then any proposal needs to be aimed at the country as a whole—not targeting a specific demographic. To target massive financial relief for student load holders while not offering anything of comparable magnitude for the blue-collar working class or working poor was, one way or another, to be focused on something other than success. And Biden paid the political price for that lack of focus. As did the country.

On the topic of success, one could also mention the DOJ’s failure to hold anyone accountable for the leadership and planning of the January 6th insurrection, nor even to identify who those planners were and bring information to the public domain. That is a total failure of government. Yet even now, it is scarcely acknowledged as a key issue. Again, I suggest that this stems from the fact that Democrats are not laser focused on success—nor do they have the appropriate level of loathing for its opposite, failure.

Finally: Stop slamming billionaires. Stop saying that “every billionaire is a policy failure”. That is absurd. That just tells Americans that you don’t want them to be successful.

Generally speaking, in a capitalist society, a (self-made) billionaire is a person who, through their work and leadership, has provided a product that is in-demand and better than the products that came before it. In other words, a person who has done a lot of good. In reality, that is not always true; but it is often true. Hold billionaires (and others) accountable for their actions, whether good or bad. But stop writing them off as a class. That simply says that you do not understand success or want people to be successful.

In all aspects, make sure Democrats are focused like a laser beam on success, in matters of policy and politics large and small. Send loud and clear the message that Democrats want American people to be successful. This, as well as charismatic leaders who are not old enough to pass as Egyptian mummies, will bring electoral victory. Thank you.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/story/2025/2/7/2302308/-What-Democrats-need-is-a-lowercase-charismatic-leader-and-a-focus-on-success

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