So long Kamala

but we still might see you in November

There was a brief moment in this campaign when it seemed Kamala was set to take the Democratic nomination by storm.  She shot down Joe Biden at the second debate with a fiery retort on busing that went viral.  Unfortunately, that magic moment was lost when she was hit by a stealth attack from Tulsi Gabbard at the next debate that she was unable to rebound from.

Kamala held so much potential but failed to reach a Democratic electorate that was torn between multiple candidates.  The voters Kamala probably most appealed to were already supporting Joe Biden.  The more liberal voters were split among Bernie and Liz.  The rest were toying with a multiple number of candidates, casting 2 per cent here, 3 per cent there and 1 per cent anywhere.  With no defining message, Kamala soon found herself relegated to the also-rans.

Still, she should have hung out until the first wave of caucuses and primaries.  She had invested heavily in Iowa and New Hampshire.  California was moved up early in the primary schedule, which suited her.  There was more than a good chance Joe Biden would bottom out in Iowa and his voters would start looking elsewhere.  However, Kamala took a long hard look at her flagging campaign and decided there was no path to victory.

The only prominent woman left in the campaign is Liz Warren, and she has become a target in recent weeks for her wealth tax to fund a greatly expanded Medicare for All.  Her numbers have trickled down as a result, but she still stands a strong second in the polling.  Liz lamented the departure of Kamala, wishing it was the billionaires who had dropped out: Steyer and Bloomberg.

Mostly, it is Kamala's own fault.  She never really seemed to have her heart in this race.  It was a bit presumptuous for a rookie Senator to run so quickly for President, but then Obama had done the same in 2008.  The difference is that Barack had a bottomless well of energy where Kamala seemed tired and dejected she couldn't get her message across.  This was all too apparent at the debate in which she let Tulsi catch her with her guard down, and then feebly tried to counter in the following debate.

We all know Tulsi is just in this race to take out other candidates at the kneecaps.  Kamala should have brushed her aside, but instead got notably upset and the media turned this into a cat fight that did much more harm to her than it did Tulsi.

It's too bad because I really liked Kamala and was hoping to see her candidacy catch fire.  I suppose there is some dim hope she might reenter the race depending on how the early primaries and caucuses shake out, but I think she is just leaving herself open for a number two spot on the November ticket, which is how the political pundits cast her to begin with.