Let us first give Trump credit. He was elected president because his people ran the numbers. Then they ran an outstanding campaign based on those numbers. It was a divide and conquer strategy. Driven by fear, fueled by hate, Trump would have described it as a beautiful strategy. It wasn't. It was ugly. It was short term thinking. It was damaging. It will take a generation for this country to recover, if we are even able to do it.
Leadership is not about dividing the population, pitting your charges against each other. Rather it is a nation, a business, or cub scout pack, leadership is about bringing people together. It is about building a team.
Can Harris do that? The book remains open, but I don't believe she can. Biden could not do it. He might have been successful before Trump, but the damage Trump left behind might be insurmountable for even the most accomplished leader.
Bush Jr. is the perfect example of a real leader. After 9/11 he posted a 90% approval rating. The highest in recorded history. Sure, he had the tragedy of 9/11 to leverage. But Trump had Covid, he could have used that to bring the country together, he failed.
Bush Jr. was a likable guy. It is the famous beer test. Would you enjoy sitting down and having a beer with him.
en.wikipedia.org
The above link is quite illuminating. I suggest focusing on one column in the chart concerning approval ratings, lowest disapproval rating. A true measure of bringing the country together. For Trump, that number is 45%. I mean talk about crunching the numbers. Trump divided this country for a five percent margin. Might be OK in the world of commercial real estate, a huge failure when it comes to running a nation.
For Bush Jr. it was 6%. But I used him as an example of a great leader because he is more recent, and he was a Republican. The lowest number in that chart, Johnson, a stunning two percent immediately following the assassination of Kennedy. I have consistently maintained that Johnson will go down as the greatest president of modern times. Ironic since I don't think he could pass the beer test. He was a notorious asshole.
Jimmy Carter hit 8%, isn't that surprising? But he seriously passes the beer test. Of the modern presidents, he is top of the list for the beer test, famously described by Greg Allman. Showed up at Carter's compound in the middle of the night. Carter gets out of bed and breaks out the good bourbon. They have a great time. That is real leadership.
This nation desperately needs a leader of the caliber of Carter, or Bush Jr.. Johnson or even Truman. But at this point, the very system itself prevents a leader of that caliber even showing up. We have to fix the system.