Harris's lack of 'authenticity' hurt. But what makes a politician genuine?
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Liz Marlantes Politics Editor
| Washington
Dear reader:
鈥淭he thing about shifting messages is it creates issues about authenticity. And authenticity is the coin of the realm in presidential races.鈥�
That was former Obama strategist David Axelrod, speaking to聽聽about Kamala Harris鈥檚 presidential campaign, which abruptly ended yesterday. Like many political commentators, Mr. Axelrod highlighted a lack of clarity as to what the California senator stood for and why she wanted to be president. Ms. Harris frequently came across as waffling 鈥� taking a stand on an issue like health care, and then reversing herself or seeming to hedge her bets.
Why We Wrote This
Successful candidates are often skilled at coming across as 鈥榬eal鈥� to voters. It鈥檚 about conveying an unscripted quality 鈥� and a lack of fear.
As Mr. Axelrod noted, the problem wasn鈥檛 policy 鈥� most Democratic voters are not as interested in policy minutiae as the various televised debates would lead you to believe. It was that Ms. Harris too often seemed as though she was just trying to be whatever audiences wanted her to be.
Authenticity has stymied many a candidate, of course. During the 2000 campaign, Al Gore was seen by many as less comfortable in his own skin than George W. Bush. John Kerry, Mitt Romney, and Hillary Clinton all faced similar 鈥渁uthenticity deficits.鈥�
In a piece in The Atlantic last spring, Gilad Edelman聽聽that authenticity in politics 鈥渋s not about being honest; it鈥檚 about seeming unscripted.鈥� Candidates 鈥渟eem authentic to the extent that they seem to be saying what they鈥檙e really thinking, rather than what they鈥檙e 鈥榮upposed鈥� to say.鈥�
President Barack Obama was skilled at conveying a thoughtfulness that seemed natural, even when he was reading off a teleprompter. President Donald Trump鈥檚 willingness to break taboos 鈥� to say things most other politicians wouldn鈥檛 鈥� makes him seem more 鈥渞eal鈥� to many of his supporters.
In some ways, authenticity is related to fearlessness. Candidates that seem afraid of saying the wrong thing or uncertain of themselves on the big stage often get pegged as inauthentic.
鈥淭he caution and fence-straddling that Harris displayed earlier in her career, as the lead local and then state prosecutor, perhaps provided clues to her problems as a presidential candidate,鈥� writes Christopher Cadelago聽. 鈥淭his time, the moment 鈥� and the stage 鈥� proved too large.鈥�
Let us know what you鈥檙e thinking at聽csmpolitics@csmonitor.com.
