To put it bluntly:
Blame the Democratic party leadership, directly, for Harris' stunning loss today.
Consider this analogy:
Mom is spending an entire week cooking and preparing a huge meal for the entire family; her teen-aged daughter is helping, but in comparatively minor ways. The morning before the big family dinner, Mom becomes extremely ill and is confined to her bed. She tells her daughter that she must finish all the cooking and preparation, with less than 24 hours to get it all done.
This is precisely the situation Harris found herself in: Rushed into the role with a hasty pro-forma exercise of awarding her all the Dem delegates and given a mere 100 days to formulate some sort of platform and hit the campaign trail.
It didn't have to be this way: The Democratic leadership, early on, should have taken seriously the increasingly noticeable cognitive decline in Biden, "encouraged" him not to run, and found a much more suitable candidate to challenge what became a red wave of defeat for their party this morning. Without enough time to adequately prepare for and execute a successful campaign, the Harris team started from behind and never gained much traction.
2019-2020 Presidential Campaign: During his 2020 campaign for president, there were occasional moments where Biden appeared to misspeak, forget names, or become confused during public speeches.
2020 Democratic Primaries: Biden's campaign was frequently marked by verbal stumbles, confusing statements, and moments of apparent forgetfulness.
2021-2023 Post-Inauguration: Once Biden took office in January 2021, questions about his cognitive abilities mounted. There were several public incidents where Biden seemed to lose his train of thought, stumbling over words or appearing confused about particular details.
Debate Performances: By now, everyone knows that Biden's disastrous debate performance in June 2024 marked the end of his bid for re-election; but by then it was too late. As early as 2020, during the presidential debates, Biden showed signs of confusion or struggle to articulate his thoughts at times, which should have warned Democratic party leaders that he might not be mentally fit for the presidency.
By the time Harris was thrust into the spotlight, combined with her refusal to distinguish herself from the Biden administration, the writing on the wall was beginning to appear.
Blame the Democrats themselves for their monumental defeat in this presidential election, which surely had repercussions in State races as well.
