All Candidates Worthy Of Applause

A small group of people are hurting today, although they shouldn’t be.

Rather, they should be proud of themselves.

They’re the political candidates who for months laid their hearts, souls and sometimes their money on the line - and lost.

The psychological pain they’re likely to suffer on this morning after is real, according to Robert R. Butterworth, a Los Angeles psychologist who has researched the psychology of losing.

Said he: “In politics, the ‘F’ word is failure, winning is everything, and after the end of a grueling political contest it’s normal for the public to dismiss and even denigrate the loser. Few losers suffer more acutely than defeated political candidates. History is full of stories chronicling the shock, disbelief, depression and anger associated with losing an election.”

As losing candidates lick their wounds today, we’d encourage them to consider the politicians who didn’t quit after crushing defeats. Winston Churchill, for example, bounced back after a disastrous term as first lord of the admiralty during World War I to hold Britain together as prime minister during World War II.

Defeated candidates also can console themselves this morning that they may have been called things in the heat of the political battle - “extremist,” “liberal,” “out of touch.” But no one can call them “coward.”

It takes guts to open yourself up to scrutiny by an opponent and partisans of another political party. If there’s skeletons in your closet, they’ll be found. If you’re rich, it’ll be an issue. If your kids ever got in trouble, the voting public will know about it.

Butterworth offered losing candidates several tips to combat the emotional roller-coaster that may lay ahead:

Be proud of yourself: “Most people are so afraid of taking risks that they avoid any contest in which they could fail. They’re the cowards - you’re not.”

Remember the odds: “Losing is a necessary part of competing; for every contested office there are one or more losers.”

What a learning experience: “Many accomplished people tell us that they learned much more about themselves during defeat than in victory.”

Rather than mope around, Butterworth suggested that losers take a vacation and get on with life. Said he: “The ability to bounce back after a defeat is the true sign of a winner.”

We agree.

, DataTimes The following fields overflowed: CREDIT = D.F. Oliveria/For the editorial board