COMMENTARY | The Dalai Lama was alleged to have said "When you lose, don't lose the lesson." Regardless, the lesson is clear: learn from your mistakes. If you never had any mistakes, a presidential primary season is a tough time to learn them. It's often too late.
What do Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul have in common? They all had an early electoral setback. Romney was bested by a wounded Ted Kennedy in a good year for Republicans, but maybe those lessons helped him rebound for his successful 2002 gubernatorial bid. He also failed in his first presidential attempt in 2008 despite dominating others in the money chase. Perhaps those lessons have helped him win in New Hampshire and Florida, and in other states.
Newt Gingrich lost his first two races for a Georgia congressional district before finding that the third time's the charm. That helped him fashion an impressive legislative career, and even winning the South Carolina primary against all odds.
Rick Santorum was pounded by Robert Casey Jr. in his bid for a third term as a U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania. Perhaps that hard 18-point thumping helped him learn enough lessons to unexpectedly upset Mitt Romney in the Iowa Caucuses. And Ron Paul continues to hang in there long past other candidates who captured the spotlight (and didn't he lose the 1988 presidential contest as a Libertarian candidate). Even Herman Cain got an early taste of political loss, having finished second in the U.S. Senate race in Georgia in 2004.
For those who fell apart earlier in the nomination season, most had never lost an election before. Texas Gov. Rick Perry had an unbeaten streak before this year, but never figured out how to regain his footing after stumbling in early debates. Congresswoman Michele Bachmann had never lost a contest, and seemed befuddled after her post-Iowa straw poll collapse. Jon Huntsman seemed to coast to easy wins in Utah as governor, but found the New Hampshire Primary to be a harsh teacher about how to lose.
It's not too different of a story from Hillary Clinton in 2008. She had never lost a race, and seemed stunned by her loss to Barack Obama in the Iowa Caucuses, and the front-runner never recovered. Obama, on the other hand, had lost a congressional race to Bobby Rush in 2000, and learned something from that, helping him withstand the Hillary Clinton comeback.
In fact, many candidates who go on to win the presidency lost some early run for Congress, governor, senator, or even president in years past. That's something that unites Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, both George Bushes, and Jimmy Carter. So if your candidate gets upset or comes up short early in their career, don't worry. It could be a stepping stone to a future successful presidential run.
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