Bob Schwartz

The key to this presidential election is not entirely “it’s the economy, stupid.” Of course the economy always matters, in this election and all others.

But when you look at constituencies where Harris is under-performing compared to Biden last time, and you look at Trump being even less attractive and stable than last time, and you look at the insults Trump is peddling, there is a simple explanation.

This race is about misogyny and racism, both of which are very much alive and well in America. If a voter is inclined to a lesser or greater degree in those directions, Harris is a difficult choice, if not a nightmare. A woman of color in the White House? No way, they think, not if I can help it!

This is not to deny amazing strides America and many Americans have made. We did, after all, elect a black president twice. On the other hand, the legitimacy of his presidency was questioned from day one. And Trump’s favorite term for women of color—especially women of intelligence and achievement—remains “a nasty woman.” A nasty woman in the White House is a bridge too far for some. Maybe not for many, but maybe enough to swing the election.

There is a myth that lemmings, Arctic rodents, commit mass suicide by throwing themselves off cliffs.

The durable myth has been perpetuated by many cultural instances, the most egregious of which is a Disney documentary from 1958. The producers imported a small number of lemmings from Norway, and then threw them off a cliff to simulate a behavior that didn’t actually exist.

We don’t know whether there are other creatures who actually do mindlessly follow each other en masse over cliffs. Or whether, as they descend, they shout about being good Americans, or Republicans, or Christians, or whatever. Or whether they expect that they will land softly and safely and triumphantly at the bottom, because of parachutes or because God will save them.

Please be kind to the actual lemmings, who don’t deserve their reputation.