In a segment on MSNBC’s Hardball about the dynamics that lead to a victory for President Barack Obama in the 2012 elections, former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown said that he found the Democratic Party’s fortune in the last cycle not necessarily indicative of future success. Brown said that Democrats did not win races at the state-level in the numbers they should have and, in combination with Mitt Romney’s weak candidacy, the “cult of the personality” around Obama was more responsible for his victory than the Democratic Party’s appeal. …

“I believe that it would have been a more telling benefit for the party if it had been Nancy Pelosi reemerging as the Speaker of the House, and if Democratic governors had won in the numbers that they needed to win in, as well as legislative bodies being dominated by Democrats,” Brown replied.

“I think, the cult of the personality had a lot more to do with the end results this time around, in addition thereto, the defective candidacy of the Republican nominee,” Brown added.