The electability myth
Before Bill Clinton became the Democratic presidential nominee in 1992, he carried tremendous political baggage as a known philanderer and military draft dodger. Even more daunting, “Slick Willie”’s candidacy was in an election where the Republican nominee was an incumbent President (George HW Bush) who was highly-respected for his high morals and a World War 2 veteran who had won a decisive military victory in the Gulf War just a year earlier.
Before Barack Obama became his Party’s nominee in 2008, he was a relatively unknown first-term Senator up against much more popular and experienced Governors and Senators, including the presumably unbeatable frontrunner Hillary Clinton. Obama went on to beat Hillary in the Democratic primary and then bested the legendary war hero Senator John McCain to become our 44th President.
Before Donald Trump became the Republican presidential nominee, he was a political novice with a notoriously corrupt business history and a vile personality in a Party that built its identity on experience and character. Almost everybody predicted his candidacy wouldn’t survive its first month.
Contrast these examples with one of the favorite pastimes of every presidential election cycle: the “electability” debate among everyday citizens.
“He can’t win because he’s too young” or “...too old”
“She can’t win because she’s too radical” or “...too vanilla”
“He doesn’t appeal enough to Blacks”
“She doesn’t appeal enough to middle America”
“He’s too inexperienced”
“It’s not yet her time”
These judgements are made with surefire conviction by countless of our fellow citizens as if political science degrees and crystal balls grow in living rooms across our nation.
However, almost all of it is snap judgement based on superficial factors like looks and tone, biases surrounding gender and race, and/or misconceptions about complex issues.
How do we know this to be true? Because the historical record is clear that the electability standard is a myth. Yet somehow “electability” remains one of the most popular topics of conversation during every presidential election. And it’s said to be a major factor in who many citizens choose to vote for.
If the electability standard was indeed reliable, Barack Obama would never have outperformed far more experienced and more “palatable” candidates, and Donald Trump would never have survived his many campaign scandals. Yet they and many other Presidents before them overcame what conventional wisdom deemed “impossible.” Whereas, it turns out that the “impossible” candidates who end up winning are the rule, not the exception.
Simply put, we should expect the unexpected when it comes to US presidential elections.
The reality is that almost anyone can be elected President of the United States. For better (Obama) or worse (Trump), the US is one of the few nations on earth where a true democracy exists and where the highest office in the land is attainable by any of its citizens.
So let’s not let the electability myth sway our vote. We should feel confident in supporting whichever candidate most closely meets our substantive standards of leadership. Character, experience, inspiration, vision - these are the key factors that should be considered when looking for who to empower with the awesome responsibility of protecting our homeland and leading our nation.
The rest is up to the election gods.
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