WHY ONLY A WHITE MAN CAN RESCUE THE DEMOCRATS

​There’s an interesting and real nationwide political perception sweeping the country. One that is characterized by fatigue. Political fatigue.

In American politics there are recurring cycles of hope and disillusionment in the promises and shortcomings of its politicians. We are currently experiencing a kind of political fatigue in the collective psyche that grows heavier with each shortcoming in leadership. Especially from people of color. Primarily blacks.

Regardless of how you spin the news, much of this fatigue is being directed, and will be directed at the Democrat Party. In recent years many of the party’s most visible leaders in America’s largest cities have been people of color, or black. Their struggles in office, whether real or perceived, have become magnified in the public eye by the news from all quarters of the media spectrum. 

​Barack Obama, once hailed as a transformative figure, is now the subject of criticism that his presidency left too many problems unresolved and has now been allegedly involved in breaching the will of the people’s 2020 Presidential election. In Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser faces persistent concerns over crime and governance, many perceiving her to be inept at controlling Washington, D.C. 

In Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass is overwhelmed by homelessness, urban disorder, and opposition to law enforcement of laws. In Chicago, Lori Lightfoot left office with deep public dissatisfaction, while her successor Brandon Johnson already faces daunting challenges, including ineptness in crime control. In New Orleans, Mayor LaToya Cantrell faces indictment and growing discontent. These examples accumulate in the public memory and shape a broader perception that leaders of color have not lived up to expectations.

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​A similar cycle has played out in big-city politics. From the 1960s onward, Black mayors were elected in major cities such as Detroit, Newark, and Washington, D.C. Some inherited financial crises, declining tax bases, and rising crime. When conditions worsened, the failures were attached not only to the individuals but to the very idea of minority leadership itself. Over time this created a narrative, maybe unfair, that the experiment of representation had not delivered results. The collective psyche paid attention.

Today the Democratic Party faces something that resembles these earlier moments of fatigue. The collective psyche of the nation grows weary of disappointment. When people are tired, they seek stability, predictability, and reassurance. History offers the example of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. In the midst of the Second World War the American people clung to him, not because he was novel, but because he was steady. Fatigue makes voters less willing to gamble on the unknown and more likely to reach for what feels safe.

That sense of safety, for many Americans across racial and ideological lines, is now embodied in the image of a white man leading the Democratic Party. Voters are unlikely to take another risk on a leader who represents diversity when that very diversity has come to be associated with disappointment. They will not rally around symbolism when symbolism has failed to deliver.

And if you’re thinking the white man Gavin Newsom is the one coming to the rescue, don’t hold your breath. I doubt the collective wisdom of serious and sober Democrats will run to someone with such a veneer; a man who is reactionary and not deliberative; a man who is an opportunist instead of a planner; a man who is unable to think on his feet. If Governor Newsom had been stationed at the Alamo, I doubt he would have been at the forefront of the fight, where those types were authentic, genuine, and without veneer. 

The truth is stark. The Democratic Party will not be rescued by another “historic first.” There will be no “New Obama” to come to the rescue. And it will definitely not be saved by identity politics. The party is now too battered, and the nation too weary, to experiment further. If Democrats are to recover, it will almost certainly be through the rise of a white man who can project steadiness and competence. Fair or not, that is where the collective psyche of the nation now rests.

I predict the next 2026 Democrat Primary will see a white man, or men, garnering the overwhelming majority of votes from all demographics – this, of course, includes people of color.

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Image via Sora author's creation