The Peter Daou Problem.

The problem with Peter Daou acting as campaign manager for Dr. Cornel West's bid for president from within the Green Party is very simple.

It's not that back in 2016, as a Hillary Clinton supporter he attacked Bernie Sanders (and his supporters) relentlessly (and disingenuously). After supporting both Clinton and Joe Biden following back-to-back primary losses,  Bernie Sanders has been revealed to be a tepid reformer at best. In hindsight, it wasn't the criticism, but the idea that Clinton would have made a better president.

It's not that he was just recently working with the Marianne Williamson campaign. Williamson has unofficially claimed the mantle of the "Bernie Sanders candidate," but her foreign policy is just as mainstream (maybe more) than Sanders and she doesn't have an economic message that resonates the way Sander's did. And again, considering how far Sanders has fallen in the eyes of the American Left and the working class (his base is pretty much anyone who still supports Justice Democrats now) the mantle Williamson seeks has little value.

It's not even the role Daou is playing. How many campaign managers are well known prior to their candidate winning an election? How many TV hosts, radio personalities and YouTubers have producers you never heard of who may not politically align with the talent? 

The problem with Peter Daou is again, simple: the American Left does not trust him. The reason that this is a problem is that Dr. Cornel West needs the American Left to achieve anything of significance in the campaign (ranging from reaching the percentage threshold needed for party funding to actually winning). 

And it's not that the American Left only trusts those who are Left. Glenn Greenwald, Tucker Carlson, Jeffrey Sachs...none of these men are Leftists, but they have all been highlighted over the recent years by Leftists for their stances on particular issues. Peter Daou has yet to receive such treatment. 

The "why" is not that important. Jill Stein vouching for Daou has not helped. Daou going on show after show has not helped. Chris Hedges being relatively silent on the matter has not helped. 

Enthusiasm for the West campaign has slowed, and now the actions taken will be scrutinized even more (which to be honest, should have happened from the jump). The quickest way to reverse this is to deal with the Peter Daou problem.