Kamala Harris '24

My immediate concern is for Trump not to be POTUS and Republicans not to control Congress. We can put aside for a moment if this is an ideal focus. I think my sentiments are shared by a lot of people. 

Nonetheless, I can voice things positively. I think President Biden did a lot of good. He also is a fine person. He's imperfect. Who isn't? But, more so than I originally thought in 2020, he is the right man for the job now. 

He did not do it alone. He had family, both personal and political. His political family first and foremost is his Cabinet and staff. Vice President Kamala Harris is part of that Cabinet. She is part of a good team. Heather Cox Richardson, as usual, had a good response to the news:

Harris smoothly took the baton. “On behalf of the American people, I thank Joe Biden for his extraordinary leadership as President of the United States and for his decades of service to our country,” she wrote. “His remarkable legacy of accomplishment is unmatched in modern American history, surpassing the legacy of many Presidents who have served two terms in office."

Harris has been on the campaign trail energetically and passionately promoting the importance of her re-election. (I will now speak in singular.) For instance, she led an event with Amanda Stratton and Olivia Troye. Who are these people? 

The panel itself was a 25-minute panel discussion with Olivia Troye, a national security adviser to former Vice President Mike Pence, and Amanda Stratton, a west Michigan mother who said her own experiences with reproductive health care have shaped her support for Biden.  

She has led the way in support of abortion rights. She has also been involved in a range of things as vice president. A major role of the Vice President is to do back-up duty, including with foreign leaders. 

From time to time, we can hear her voice on the White House website, including honoring Rep. Shelia Jackson Lee. But, yes, a lot of stuff is largely out of view.

Vice President Harris is a symbol. She is the first woman vice president. Her interracial heritage is also symbolic. She also brings youth (relatively speaking! She will be 60 in October -- can we cheat a tad and adopt her as a member of Generation X?). 

Her laugh suggests a joy in doing good in public life. It is mixed with the seriousness of the stakes. A former prosecutor knows the level of what we are fighting against here. And, yes, the stakes are high.

Kamala Harris did not have a great campaign in 2019. It was not her moment. It is her moment now. She has to make herself known to the American public. 

A chunk of them was uncomfortable with President Biden. I think some of them will never be happy. Kamala Harris and her team need to make enough willing to give her their vote to win in November. I think she can do it. I'm ready for a woman president.

The dynamics will be novel with this never happening before. LBJ decided not to run for re-election after he saw the opposition in early 1968. We now have to replace a ticket mid-stream. Oh well. We handled COVID and a lot more. We still are handling COVID (Biden caught it again). We can do this. 

Things have begun well after a horribly messy process of convincing President Biden to step aside. He will talk to the public later this week. We shall see if anything changes. For now, people are starting to shift their support to Kamala Harris. Democrats almost seem … dare we say it — “in array.”  

We shall see who she chooses as vice president. Meanwhile, Republicans (including alleged moderates like Larry Hogan running for Senate) are stuck with an old and fading horrible candidate and his young authoritarian puppy. 

When will the pressure for Trump to drop out begin? After all, he is not even constitutionally qualified. 

ETA: Her remarks today were very good.