What do the Democratic Party and the United States Professional Golf Association have in common?  They both continue to bet on individuals who have not been able to demonstrate the ability to win.

Let’s start with golf since the European drubbing of the U.S. team is so fresh in our consciousness.  What was the story line this week in France?  The Americans had not won the Ryder Cup on European soil since 1993.  So who did captain Jim Furyk select to round out the team in addition to the eight players who had earned the honor to represent the U.S. based on their records since the last competition.  Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson, two players who had individually or collectively been on every one of the U.S. teams which had lost to the Europeans over that 25 year span.  Most of the time “muscle memory” is an asset.  But bad experiences also can become embedded in one’s psyche.  Woods and Mickelson had a combined 0-6-0 record for the tournament.  QED.

When the Yanks needed a dramatic Sunday comeback, there were three matches on which the final outcome seemed to depend.  Could U.S. players  cool off the hottest players on the opposing team–Francesco Molinari, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose and Rory McIlroy?  When the dust cleared on these matches, three of the Europeans had fallen to two U.S. rookies–Tony Finau and Justin Thomas–and one competitor who experienced only one previous loss to a foreign home team–Webb Simpson.  The sole exception was 48 year-old Mickelson’s defeat at the hands of Molinari who prior to this competition had never won a full point in two previous appearances.  The 2018 event is now the sixth consecutive time Mickelson has been on the losing side when the Europeans host the matches.

To be fair, the Europeans had several advantages.  They were more familiar with the course–Le Golf National–where their PGA tour plays the French Open every year.  No player had to deal with more than a one hour time change.  Fewer members of their team played in the Tournament Players Championship a week earlier and had more time to rest up and prepare for the Ryder Cup.  Not to mention the enthusiastic home crowd.  Maybe the Americans were destined to lose again, but one has to wonder if the captain’s picks had included younger, hungrier players without the memory of a quarter century of defeat, would the team have been more competitive?

Which brings me to the Democratic party.  The comparison between the Ryder Cup and the 2016 election struck me Saturday when I saw a headline in the Huffington Post which read, “Hillary Clinton to Stump for Andrew Gillum in Florida Governor’s Race.”  As 1919 Chicago White Sox fans begged of Shoeless Joe Jackson, “Tell me it ain’t so!”  Polls already showed Gillum leading anywhere from two to nine percentage points over his opponent and Trump sycophant Ron deSantis.

What was the single worse thing Gillum could do to change the trajectory of the election? Bring in the one person who could rally Trump’s base in the Sunshine State.  In focus group after focus group, many 2016 Trump voters say they do not like the way Trump has handled himself since taking office or many of this policies.  But, and this is a big one, given the same choice between Trump and Clinton, they would not change their vote.

Now I have great respect for Clinton.  She should be honored for her service as First Lady, U.S. Senator and Secretary of State and her support for many important causes.  But at the national political level her lack of success equals that of the U.S. Ryder Cup team in Europe.  When Bill Clinton made universal health care part of his 1992 platform, she could not put together a coalition to give people what the said they wanted.  In 2008, she could not fend off an insurgent, African-American, first-term Senator.  And in the 2016 nomination contest, not counting super delegates, barely edged another insurgent who is not even a card-carrying member of the Democratic party.  I am not being judgmental here.  These are the facts.

And this is not solely about Hillary Clinton.  Joe Biden is hinting a run at the presidency in 2020.  I love Joe Biden, but he has run for president TWICE and failed TWICE.  With the exception of Richard Nixon, the Republicans show no similar inclination to recycle losing candidates.  Barry Goldwater, Gerald Ford, John McCain, Mitt Romney, Bob Dole had their chance.  None were even considered to be their party’s nominee in the next election.  The party moved on.

PGA America and the Democratic Party, it’s time for you to move on also.  Make room for fresh faces with messages that resonate with the changing demographics on the national landscape.  Thank the veterans of both athletic and political battles who have served and build statues to them if you wish.  But PLEASE stop relying on them to do something they have never done before.

For what it’s worth.
Dr. ESP