Let’s start with the obvious: The woman has about as much charisma as a dead armadillo. Despite having risen through the ranks in California’s political scene, her personality is not one that endears herself to voters on a national scale.

Harris’ speeches were often criticized for appearing rehearsed and insincere. She had a tremendous difficulty connecting with everyday Americans – especially on an emotional level.

Compared to someone like Trump, who knows how to galvanize a base through messaging and relatability, Harris’ performances on the campaign stage came off as lackluster and disengaged. It got even worse when she had to participate in interviews, which is likely why she spent the first month of her campaign dodging the press.

Harris has shown a remarkable inability to answer even the most simple of questions, often deflecting to lengthy word salads that did nothing to address what was being asked. She is, quintessentially, someone who uses a lot of words to say absolutely nothing. It’s a huge turnoff for voters who want their leaders and politicians to be able to articulate their ideas and policies.

Speaking of policies, Harris also falls short in this area. Her positions on healthcare, gun control, and the economy are far more radical than most Americans are comfortable with. This is likely why she attempted to move toward the center and distance herself from the ideas she espoused while she sought the Democratic presidential nomination during the 2020 primaries.

But it didn’t work. Five years ago, Harris argued in favor of a full-on government takeover of the healthcare industry, making it even more intrusive in people’s medical decisions. She sought to do away with private insurance companies, a proposition that is not attractive to most Americans, regardless of political affiliation. She attempted to walk this back during this campaign, but it seems nobody believed she actually had a change of heart.

The same holds true on her position on gun control. She desperately tried to convince the public that she did not want to take their guns. She even touted her status as a gun owner. Yet, she still pushed for universal background checks, red flag laws, and a ban on so-called assault weapons. At a time when gun ownership is on the rise, these positions appear to be losing popularity.

As a panacea for America’s economic woes, Harris proposed imposing price controls on grocery companies as a way to combat the impact of inflation. She claimed this policy would curtail “price gouging,” in what seemed to be an attempt to blame companies for higher food prices rather than President Joe Biden’s policies. This proposal met with criticism and ridicule from folks on both sides of the aisle.

Next, we have Kamala Harris’ ineptitude, which was on full display during her tenure as vice president. Her record and dismal approval ratings have been a constant target for criticism. Harris comes off as unprepared to deal with the problems facing America.

Early into her vice presidency, Harris was given the task of helping to manage the border crisis. Her role as border czar was to identify the root issues driving people to migrate to the United States and develop solutions to curb the flow of illegal immigrants and asylum seekers to the southern border.

She failed miserably.

In fact, the vice president refused to so much as visit the border until she was pressured to do so. Even then, her visit was merely symbolic, a way to get her critics off her back. During Biden’s term in office, little has been done to address the problem at the border, and Americans are suffering as a result.

Cities are having their resources strained while trying to house those entering the country. Border towns are bearing the brunt of the crisis. Even more tragic are the Americans who have become victims of illegal immigrants who commit violent crimes:

The entire problem of illegal immigration costs the American taxpayers billions of dollars in benefits paid to those people, in enforcement activities, in lost jobs, and in depressed wages, but there is a human cost that sadly runs much, much higher - that human cost comes with human faces. Here are some of those faces:

Jocelyn Nungaray. This 12-year-old girl was assaulted, bound ankle and wrist, and strangled by two known Venezuelan gang members who were caught entering the country - and released into the United States. Her body was tossed into a creek. Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel and Franklin Jose Peña Ramos were arrested three days later, and face capital murder charges, but that won't bring Jocelyn back, nor will it assuage the pain of her grieving family. This happened because of border czar Kamala Harris' open border policies.

Finally, one of the most insurmountable roadblocks to Harris’ campaign was her boss: President Joe Biden. His administration has alienated many voters due to its incompetence and failure to solve problems. Rising inflation, horrible jobs numbers, and foreign policy missteps marred Biden’s presidency. Whether it was the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan or exorbitant prices at grocery stores, the White House under this president showed that Americans are on their own when it comes to making ends meet.

Harris was inevitably tied to Biden’s policies, with voters viewing them as one in the same. The vice president was placed in a position in which she had to differentiate herself from Biden without throwing him under the bus. She failed at this, and to be fair, there was probably no way anyone could have pulled this off. Had Biden been a better president, this would not have been as pressing an issue for Harris’ campaign.

It does not take a political science degree to see how each of these factors played into Harris’ defeat. Indeed, I suspect that at least some Democrats are fully aware of their candidate’s flaws. But, so far, it does not appear they are ready for any self-reflection. After all, it is much easier to simply claim Harris lost because of racism and misogyny, isn’t it?