Why Hasn’t Cory Booker Caught On?

The Atlantic: “Staffers for the senator’s campaign are exasperated and annoyed… He’s done everything right: established the necessary relationships in key states, racked up more endorsements than any other candidate, performed well in the debates. He carries the message of unity that Democrats say they want… He’s made no big gaffes, had no significant stumbles. His messaging has been consistent. At candidate events, he reliably gives the best speeches to the most thunderous ovations.”

“Maybe it’s that he can come off like he’s trying too hard… Maybe it’s because cynical political reporters can’t avoid laughing off his talk about a ‘conspiracy of love’ … Maybe he’s just too weird a confection of traits … Or maybe he’s being subjected to a kind of second-order racism: it’s not that voters are opposed to putting another black man in the White House; it’s that they’re afraid other voters won’t be willing to put another black man in the White House.”