More things in politics happen by accident or exhaustion than happen by conspiracy.
In another life, before taking the veil of journalistic purity, I practiced the black arts of a political operative, including 'debate prep.
There is something discordant about a team of speechwriters and political operatives hammering away to create an image of the 'real, inner' candidate. And, to be blunt, there is no necessary connection between a moving life experience and the skills necessary for leadership.
Victory has 1,000 fathers; defeat has 1,000 kibitzers.
There is no such thing as political science, but there are tenancies so strong that they might as well be called laws of nature.