Nikki Haley, like other long shots, sees a path to victory
The romance of America as a land of boundless hope and possibility may have lost some lustre for Americans in general. But there is one place, for at least a handful of Americans, where the dream shines bright as ever. These idealistic few can be fascinating to watch, even inspiring, as they slip the reins of doubt, buck the burden of low expectations, and allow themselves, as dark-horse Republican presidential candidates, to run free through Iowa’s fields of dreams.
So it can be to chase after Nikki Haley, the former ambassador to the United Nations and governor of South Carolina, as she races from event to event—22 in Iowa since she announced her run less than four months ago. Polling puts her in single digits in the state and nationally, and she is far behind in raising money as well.
Yet like others in the back of the pack, Ms Haley campaigns in a bubble of plausibility. As she differentiates herself by means of policy, tone and identity, jabbing the occasional elbow at Donald Trump, she makes a case that sounds persuasive, and the crowds of one-or-two hundred at her town-hall gatherings seem rapt. Where she goes, local press coverage blooms. If Iowans had the gumption to pick such improbable candidates as Jimmy Carter in 1976 and Barack Obama in 2008, delivering victories in the first-in-the-nation contest that ignited the national imagination, why not anoint the first female, Indian-American president in 2024?
2023-06-01 07:58:51
Link from www.economist.com
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