For three and a half years Kamala Harris has been seated at the foot of a master politician who crafted a platform of bipartisan accomplishment in economic resurgence, infrastructure funding, college debt relief, improved health care benefits, foreign relations coalitions and pandemic relief.
For sure Harris is no Joe Biden. There are few politicians who are. She is younger. Just 59. She served as a senator, but not as long as Biden did. She has met with more than a hundred heads of state, but has not nearly as much foreign relations credibility as Biden. No one does.
On the other hand, compared to Biden she has energy and enthusiasm, factors he has lost.
She is vulnerable on the illegal immigration issue, even as the number of crossings decreases. But compared to Donald Trump who separated children from parents, who demonized all illegals as criminals, she offers a more understanding viewpoint. She is, after all, the daughter of immigrants (legal immigrants, Donald!) from India and Jamaica. She was born in Oakland, Calif., October 20, 1964. (Personal aside—our son Dan also was born on October 20.)
Her career as a district attorney in San Francisco and then as the state’s attorney general puts her squarely on the right side of law and order, a stark contrast to Trump’s career circumventing local, state and federal regulations, being convicted of rape, being twice impeached by the House of Representatives, being accused of trying to overturn a fair election and of repeatedly using bankruptcy statutes to avoid paying creditors.
Harris might not be everyone’s first choice, but she is a tireless advocate for the right of women to choose their own medical needs, for clean energy and environmental protections.
Who will she select as her running mate? I see two leading candidates, both governors: Andy Beshear of Kentucky and Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan.
Either one would more than offset the presumed appeal of JD Vance, Trump’s choice for vice president, who is more reactionary than Trump.
Though the eventual ticket is a formality that must await the Democratic Party convention next month, the race to November 5 is all but officially on.
