San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Promise may have set Biden up for failure
Presidentelect Joe Biden’s goal of distributing 100 million coronavirus vaccine shots in his first 100 days in office is both bold and dangerous.
It’s bold because 100 million shots would inoculate 50 million people against the virus. That would turn the tide against the spread of COVID19 and would be a giant first step in regaining the public’s trust in government.
It’s dangerous because Biden has publicly committed to a specific number of vaccines by a specific date.
A million vaccines a day. That is quite a task even under optimum conditions. It’s one thing to have the vaccines ready, but it remains to be seen whether the states will have enough people trained to give the shots or get a system up and running in time.
It’s also Biden’s first major promise, even if he’s calling it only a goal. If he falls short, our new president will have to live with the failure for the rest of his term.
I know. I made just such a mistake when, after first being elected mayor of San Francisco, I said I would “fix” Muni in 100 days.
The press never let me live down that failed promise. And unlike Biden, I didn’t even say which 100 days I was talking about.
Harris rising: The biggest winner in the two U. S. Senate runoff races in Georgia on Tuesday could be Vice Presidentelect Kamala Harris.
If the Democrats manage to win both seats, they would be in a 5050 deadlock with Republicans, and Harris, as president of the Senate, would have the tiebreaking vote.
It would instantly elevate Harris beyond the vice president’s usual role of attending state funerals and other light lifting. She would be the second most important person in Washington.
No wonder the Biden transition team had her at the front of the line to get the vaccine shot the other day. It was carried live on national TV as a way to assure the public that the vaccine is safe.
Pelosi challenge: The fallout of the Democrats’ narrowed majority in the House is starting to be felt in Washington, where Rep. Nancy Pelosi has little margin for error in her bid Sunday to be reelected as speaker.
She’s likely to win, but it’s not a sure thing. Strange as it may sound, there might be a collection of more conservative Democrats willing to make a deal with Republicans to elect a more moderate Democrat.
Granted, any Democrat who was elected in such a deal would be an instant pariah within the party and roundly denounced ... for about a minute. Everyone would snap back in line when the first committee assignments went out. That’s what happened when Republicans helped oust one of my fellow Democrats and elect me Assembly speaker for the first time in 1980.
Bad idea: There are hundreds of parklets in our city, all under the Shared Spaces program for restaurants. Some advocates for homeless people want them to be used as makeshift homeless shelters when people aren’t eating there.
Only in San Francisco would anyone even think this way.
Let’s hope that thought process does not have legs. After all, parklets like one at the Gold Mirror on Taraval Street in the Sunset District cost more than $ 30,000 to build. So you advocates, if you want homeless people to use the parklets as shelters, then offer up some rent.
TV time: I just saw Netflix’s “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.” It’s a play well worth watching that takes you back to the Black world of the ’ 20s and ’ 30s in Chicago.
Great cast and acting headlined by Viola Davis and the late Chadwick Boseman. So check it out. But beware, the language is rather salty.
Not yet: I said “Happy new year” to a friend the other day.
He said, “Oh no. It’s too early for that.” “What do you mean? New Year’s Day is Friday.”
He said, “Happy new year doesn’t come until the 20th, when Joe Biden is sworn in as president and Donald Trump is finally gone. That’s the happy new year.”