According to New York Magazine's David Freelander, "like it or not, Kamala Harris is the frontrunner" for the 2028 presidential elections. "She is, friends and allies say, content to just wait. For now. To campaign where asked, see how the midterms play out, and let those White House aspirants champing at the political bit launch their candidacies first," Freelander writes. "But make no mistake: Kamala Harris is very much looking like a presidential contender-in-waiting."

Here we go again.

The article is full of quotes from various supporters, Democratic Party figures, and former aides (presumably taking time away from their busy schedules of doing absolutely nothing), with comments bordering from supportive to the outright negative.

But littered throughout the article are hints at Harris' effort to rehabilitate herself, like a Kamala Harris-shaped peg trying to force herself into a hole that is very much not shaped like Kamala Harris. She's apparently reached out to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, she's meeting with anti-Israel activists and she's looking to ingratiate herself with various identity categories that she believes will deliver her the White House. Presumably, this will mean some more accent changes, more discussions on why her favorite living rapper is Tupac and her obsession with laughing at every possible opportunity.

"She is looking for where the wave is going and is determined to ride it," said one "supporter" who claimed that Harris' mindset is that she should have won in 2024, were it not for "consultants."

Ah yes, the blame game. But here's the thing: Harris can blame her election loss on everything under the sun — consultants, racism, Joe Biden, racism, Donald Trump, racism, lack of time, or racism — and she can pretend that all she has to do is ride the right "wave" and the votes will come flooding in.

But despite her podcast appearances and dance routines and luxury jewelry — like any good armchair socialist — she's still a boomer pretending to be down with the kids. Sure, she can try running on hating Jews — sorry, "Israel" — but she still needs to grapple with the fact that other figures in the Democratic Party with far more charisma than her (i.e., everyone) have already cornered that particular market.

Her husband could uncircumcise himself and open a shrimp-and-grits restaurant and voters whose sole issue is Palestine would still think twice about voting for the woman who happily ran alongside "Genocide Joe."

And that's before we get to the real problem for Harris. Really, it's the only problem: She is, was and will always be a terrible candidate. She flamed out of the 2020 primary race before a single vote was cast, and she only came within 1,000 miles of the White House in 2020 because Joe Biden promised to choose a Black woman as his running mate. In 2024, she only came within 10,000 miles of the White House because Joe Biden's brain fell out on national television and the not-so-Democratic Party installed Harris as his "joyful" replacement.

When it comes to Kamala Harris, no matter what "wave" she's pretending to ride today, give voters a say and they will say "no" every single time.

Ian Haworth is a syndicated columnist. You can find his work on Substack and follow him on X (@ighaworth). To find out more about Ian Haworth and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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