Columnist laments election 'happening too soon' in a nation doomed to be 'stuck in place'

A New York Times columnist argued Thursday night that the 2024 election is "happening too soon" — and he was "expecting too much" from a "smug, self-satisfied, 'I am right' nation."

David Brooks lamented that he no longer believes this year's election would be a "moment of renewal," with Democrats defeating what he called MAGA populism and thrusting the nation down a better path.

But that's "clearly not going to happen," he wrote, adding that no matter who wins, it will be a close race and the nation will continue to be bitterly divided.

"In retrospect, I think I was expecting too much of politics," said Brooks. "When certain sociological and cultural realities are locked in, there is not much politicians can do to redirect events."

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Despite billions being poured into the elections, Brooks noted the country is dead even in the polls for the presidential race. He suggested politicians aren't "master navigators" who lead their constituents into a new future — rather they're more akin to "surfers who ride the waves created by people further down in the core society."

As the country moves rightward on issues such as immigration and the economy, Brooks argued, "This election is happening too soon.

"It’s happening before cultural and civic preconditions are in place that might turbocharge political and legislative reform," he wrote. "It’s simply unfair to ask [Vice President Kamala] Harris, who has been a presidential candidate for all of four months, to lay out a vision for comprehensive national renewal under these conditions. Politicians, especially when running for office, are professional opportunists, trying to please voting blocs. They are rarely visionaries."

He later added: "For a whole society to change, the people in the society have to want to change themselves. A smug, self-satisfied, 'I am right' nation is going to be perennially stuck in place."