this post was submitted on 24 Jul 2024
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Showerthoughts

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A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. A showerthought should offer a unique perspective on an ordinary part of life.

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[–] [email protected] 77 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Kinda depends on how you are measuring it.

It sounds like you are just going by elected presidents, but quite a few were multiple-term presidents, and those presidents had multiple elections with different opponents.

And sometimes, a losing opponent would go on to win a later election.

Also, no one ran against George Washington, twice.

Out of 59 elections (if you include Washington), I think there have been 49 white guys and one white lady who have lost a US Presidential election at least once (and may or may not have gone on to be President in a later election).

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_presidential_elections_by_popular_vote_margin

I am exactly as fun at parties as you would imagine.

[–] [email protected] 34 points 5 months ago (1 children)

It’s also technically a lot more if you remember that we do in fact have several marginalized parties running in every general election.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 5 months ago

And multiple candidates per party who lose during the primary stage.

[–] [email protected] 42 points 5 months ago (3 children)

I like Kamala. You have a real shot at taking Trump out with her. The stakes could not be higher. Maybe for the world. He is a truly dangerous person.

I wonder if I can get the next statement out without venom coming back at me, but I'll say it anyway:

I think you guys should try hard to steer the rhetoric away from anything polarizing (race or gender), and do everything you can to create inclusion (from anyone). I'm seeing a lot of things like that, and I don't think it plays out into more support. And there's nothing more important now than maximizing support.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 5 months ago

I feel similarly, but my whole life Democrats keep thinking "maybe if I compromise with the right wing and move right, I'll get more votes" and saying aw dang better luck next time when the right wing's dwindling base votes red down the whole ticket, while party insiders actively sideline Democrats who win big on left wing messaging. So when I hear Harris striking a tone of inclusion and unity, I'm glad because I feel it's laudable, but I'm also not thrilled because I've heard this song before.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)

The problem isn't appealing to centrist moderates. The problem is getting leftists excited to vote. Polarising is good.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago (2 children)

"polarising" is how you lose elections.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 5 months ago

Funny, I thought it's how the Republicans won 2016

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[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago

She's the first candidate in a while where I feel she might genuinely be good as a president, not just "not bad".

[–] [email protected] 33 points 5 months ago (2 children)

Only if you only count two parties.

[–] [email protected] 23 points 5 months ago (3 children)

Dude....I'm 40. I probably don't have the energy for ONE party tonight. Let alone TWO!!!

UGGGGHHHHHH........

slaps own face really hard, chugs 750ml of whiskey, and splashes some water on my face

OK.....LETS DOOOO THISSSSSS!!!!! RAAAAWWWWRRRRRRR!!!!!

[–] [email protected] 9 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Middle aged rave up in here! Woooooot

Okay, I'm spent, going to bed now

[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago

I'm already there.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago
[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago (3 children)

a few moments later

Zzzzzzzzzzz.....

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[–] [email protected] 7 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Someone said to me that even if the majority would now vote for a third party, they wouldn't get anything done because the Senate Ave Congress are still all dems and reps.

I don't know enough about how US elections work though

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago

It's just an excuse.

They will be hard to deal with, but for the first time ever, they need to learn compromise.

It also opens up for legitimate third part candidates in next Senate election.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (5 children)

Trump has also never won the general election for POTUS against a man but is undefeated against women so far, so let's hope that changes. For America, and the rest of the world, he better not win.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 5 months ago

Beating women does seem to be on-Brand for him...

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 months ago

he'd* better not win

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[–] [email protected] 24 points 5 months ago (1 children)

I have also never lost an Olympics, or lost a Formula 1 race, or lost a fight against Mike Tyson, or lost the Super Bowl.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago

This is your year dude, good luck in Paris!

[–] [email protected] 23 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Ignoring how meaningless the statement is in the first place, obligatory XKCD.

https://xkcd.com/1122/

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago

Interestingly, if Kamala wins, that last streak will still hold true.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 5 months ago

I know she didn’t make it all the way to the general election, but I’d like to take a moment to remind everyone about Shirley Chisholm.

https://www.history.com/news/shirley-chisholm-career-milestones

[–] [email protected] 18 points 5 months ago (9 children)
[–] [email protected] 12 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

facepalm thanks, fixed the titled

Edit: I’m still wrong. But this was a shower thought. There’s a reason this community isn’t called “well thought out comments”

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

Don't correct that. He's wrong. It's way more than 46, most multi-term presidents defeated several different contenders.

Edit: I got 63 white men and 1 white woman, not counting pre 12th amendment elections, not counting minor candidates who didn't win any states electors. There's a lot more if you include minor candidates, but then one of them would be Cynthia McKinney who is a black woman.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Also a lot of people ran in the general election that weren't members of the two major parties.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago

And I raaaan. I ran so far awaaaay.

I just ran.

I ran all night and daaaay!!!

........I couldn't get away.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

I voted for Aunt Jemima in 1978, after I was born at age 6 without a face in 1983.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago

That's right.

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[–] [email protected] 17 points 5 months ago (3 children)

I get the feeling in OPs post, but for those unfamiliar, there are more people on the ballot other than the 2 main picks. This even varies by state, as they can have different criteria for defining who makes it to the ballot.

So perhaps a black woman has at some point ran for president (as in, made it to the ballot at least)?

[–] [email protected] 9 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (1 children)

Hell, at least one, Shirley Chisholm, campaigned to be on the Democrat ballot in 1977. That counts as running for president, even if they don't win the primary right?

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[–] [email protected] 16 points 5 months ago (1 children)

From wikipedia:

Charlene Alexander Mitchell (June 8, 1930 – December 14, 2022) was an American international socialist, feminist, labor and civil rights activist. In 1968, she became the first Black woman candidate for President of the United States.[1][2]

Charlene Alexander Mitchell

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[–] [email protected] 13 points 5 months ago (3 children)

What really bugs me is that both sides are just attacking the other rather than talking about why they are the right choice. US elections are always about smear campaigns

[–] [email protected] 4 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

I remember the first election I was old enough to vote in (the 2004 election) paying close attention to all the political ads I saw and, at least for that election, only the Republican ads were focused on "other guy bad, so vote me." The opposing side's ads were entirely focused on their own platform and never even mentioned the other side.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago (2 children)

From what I see most elections always are.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago

It's not what I'm used to in the Netherlands. There are personal attacks sometimes, but mostly by guys who don't have the best reputation in the first place.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago (4 children)

This is most of my memory of Canadian elections too. I wish even mentioning other parties wasn't allowed in campagin material, like how in some parts of government politicians can only refer to each other by title and not by name.

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[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 months ago

There was a time, a few decades ago, when there was a real demand to get away from the negativity of most campaigns. Everyone says they wanted it, polls clearly showed it, etc.

But then there was another study which analyzed the effectiveness of campaigns (i.e. if they won) vs how negative they went.

Negativity was clearly proven to be the winning tactic.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Way more people than that have lost in the general election (hundreds, if not thousands), including Cynthia McKinney in 2008 as the most successful black female loser, but plenty of other black women have lost the general election.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Sample size too small, please try again in 1000 years.

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[–] [email protected] 3 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (3 children)

It’s equally valid to say that a black woman has lost the election every time.

Edit: Vacuous truth

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