It has only been a little more than two months since President Joe Biden decided not to run for reelection and Vice President Kamala Harris stepped in as the Democratic candidate for the presidency, but the whirlwind of activity that has occurred since then has come fast and furious. The Democratic convention was a joyful affair, with Barack and Michelle Obama delivering great speeches and Harris herself emerging energized. The Presidential debate with Donald Trump was even better for her, with most viewers overwhelmingly thinking that she clearly bested him. Really, it seems that the Harris campaign has been perfect so far, with no major gaffes or missteps. Sure, she has some residual baggage from the Biden administration, but her handling of it has been effective as she's laid out her new economic plans while trying to counter Trump on immigration and hammering him on her strongest issue, abortion. Along the way she's picked up endorsements from Republicans like Dick and Lynn Cheney, and over 700 former secretaries of state and defense who all signed a letter stating that Trump posed both a threat to democracy and our nation's defense.
You would think that a campaign with all that going for it would be riding high, but while she did get a slight bounce from both the campaign and the debate, current polls show her only slightly ahead nationally and essentially tied in many battleground states. The poll analysis website 538.com has them running even. And with Trump refusing to debate Harris again, there's probably no breaking story or "October surprise" awaiting that could radically change things. It really looks like the vote on November 5th may be one of the closest ever. What really scares me is that Trump's polls numbers were lower than his actual percentage of the vote in 2016 and 2020, so he could have the advantage here.
Why is this happening? Is America really about to elect a twice impeached convicted felon? Sadly, the answer could be yes. And really, a lot of this comes down to American men. One thing the polling clearly shows is that this will be the most gender divided election ever, with some polls showing Harris leading Trump among female voters by a whopping 20 points. That's no surprise, given that this is the first presidential election since Roe Vs Wade was overturned. But this goes beyond the issue of abortion, with Trump's swaggering, absurdly boastful nature appealing to men who somehow see his string of marriages to younger and younger women as something to aspire to, and who cheer when he goes to Ultimate Fighting matches. And who shrug off his infamous Access Hollywood tape comments as "locker room talk" and buy into his argument that the criminal charges against him are just being political witch hunts.
As an American male myself, I find it soul crushing that such a despicable man could be a role model to anybody, and I know I'm not alone in this. But most male are going for Trump, raising the depressing possibility that a misogynistic man who's been accused of sexual assault or rape by 26 different women could defeat not one, but two different female candidates. Again I have to ask, why is this happening?
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