By A.R. | CHICAGO
FOR EVIDENCE OF how twitchy Democrats remain about finding a presidential candidate who can beat Donald Trump, consider the fuss that has blown up over Tulsi Gabbard. The four-term congresswoman from Hawaii, the first Hindu American to have been elected to the House of Representatives, is an Iraq war veteran who at times has been described as a rising figure in the party. But this year, competing in a crowded field of aspirants to become the Democratic nominee, she has appeared to be little more than a minor also-ran destined to be knocked out early.
On a host of measures Ms Gabbard looks weak. She averages just 1% in national polls; gamblers on online betting sites give her a 2% chance of becoming the nominee. Eleven Democrats raised more from donors than she managed in the third quarter. She failed to qualify for the third Democratic debate in September and looks unlikely to join the fifth in November. In the three televised debates she did attend, she spoke relatively little. Her most distinctive policy is her opposition to American involvement in what she calls “regime change wars”. But she is widely portrayed as an apologist for America’s enemies and has had to deny she is a “Russian asset”. The thing for which she is best-known—meeting Syria’s dictator Bashar al-Assad in 2017; she has spoken up for the war-criminal since—is unlikely to charm many voters.
