By rallying around Vice President Harris, Democrats are setting themselves up for a replay of Secretary Clinton’s 2016 defeat — and they’re OK with that.

As humiliating as Mrs. Clinton’s loss to President Trump was, she didn’t drag down congressional Democrats, who gained six seats in the House and two in the Senate that year.

Speaker Pelosi was hellbent on ending President Biden’s reelection bid because she knew how much damage he’d do to down-ballot Democrats.

What she saw in the party’s internal polling was grounds for a coup.

The most vulnerable House and Senate Democrats, with good reason, were among the first and loudest to call for his ouster.

Mr. Biden didn’t step aside selflessly: his choice was between going down in flames while being blamed by his fellow Democrats for their losses, too, or dropping out and letting someone else bear responsibility for whatever happens.

Either way, he wasn’t headed back to the White House, so Mr. Biden opted to cut his losses.

Now that his dream of a second term is over, are Democrats ready for “what can be, unburdened by what has been”?

Not exactly — because Ms. Harris is burdened by everything Biden was except age.

And with Mr. Biden still in the Oval Office, Democrats can hardly say that Trump, younger and more cogent than the president, is too old for the job.

Nor can Ms. Harris run from the record of the administration she shares with Biden:

She owns all the inflation, illegal immigration, disgrace in Afghanistan, and inadequacy in confronting crises from Yemen to Ukraine that characterizes the past three years of Democratic government.

What does she bring that’s new?

She’s a woman, of course — but so was Mrs. Clinton, who campaigned unsuccessfully on the prospect of being the first woman elected to the White House.

Mrs. Clinton knew she might have a problem winning rural and working-class white men, so she chose a running mate, Senator Kaine, with proven appeal to them.

It didn’t work:

Clinton lost Rust Belt states that had voted Democrat for decades. 

If Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania didn’t take to Mrs. Clinton, what are the chances they’ll find Ms. Harris more agreeable? 

Mrs. Clinton was formidable in Democratic primaries at least, overcoming Senator Sanders in 2016 and putting up stiff resistance to President Obama in 2008.

Ms. Harris didn’t fare so well against Mr. Sanders, or anyone else, when she sought the nomination in 2020.

Polling in the single digits, she quit the race before the first contest.

Now Ms. Harris is fast-tracked for the nomination without having competed in — let alone having won — a single presidential primary.

Buoyed by friendly media, her numbers this time might look better in the short term, and the Democratic ticket will benefit from a fresh choice for running mate.

Yet none of Ms. Harris’ likely V.P. picks is much different from Mr. Kaine, who couldn’t rescue Ms. Clinton in the industrial heartland eight years ago.

Maybe Governor Shapiro would tip his state safely into the Democratic column. 

By itself, that’s not enough — Trump only needs to win one of the three big Rust Belt battlegrounds, as long as his leads in Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina hold up. 

Other prospective Harris running mates, such as Senator Kelly of Arizona, Governor Cooper of North Carolina, and Governor Beshear of Kentucky, are variations on the same theme: men meant to balance the ticket’s appeal, all as little known outside their states as Mr. Kaine was when he became Ms. Clinton’s veep pick.

Choosing Governor Whitmer of Michigan would give Democrats the first two-woman ticket in presidential history, but aside from her sex, Ms. Whitmer fits the same pattern as the others.

Trump is by any measure stronger than he was when he beat Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Kaine.

He’s gained presidential experience, and he’s survived two impeachments and an assassination attempt.

The only enemy ever to beat him, Mr. Biden, imploded the second time he tried it.

Trump may have trained to take on Mr. Biden, but he’s all the more ready for a repeat of 2016 if Democrats field a similar ticket.

Ms. Harris and her running mate might improve on the Clinton-Kaine formula, and in a country as closely divided as ours, winning is a game of inches.

Ditching Mr. Biden, though, hasn’t changed the fundamentals of the presidential election, however much it may have helped down-ticket candidates.

Ms. Harris is running with Mr. Biden’s record and Mrs. Clinton’s profile — not a winning combination, but one the party’s bosses have decided to settle for.

Creators.com