Harris offers ballast for Biden run
California Sen. Kamala Harris showed during a Democratic presidential debate last summer that she can play hardball, criticizing Joe Biden for his stance on forced busing and for working with segregationists during his career as a senator.
Biden survived that attack and today he is the Democrats' presumptive nominee for president. On Tuesday, Biden showed that he doesn't hold a grudge when he selected Harris to be his running mate.
“I need someone working alongside me who is smart, tough and ready to lead,” Biden said. “Kamala is that person.”
Biden had vowed to name a female running mate, and his choice of a Black woman was not unexpected. Other women of color mentioned as potential choices were Susan Rice, former national security adviser to President Barack Obama, and 2018 Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams.
Harris won election to the U.S. Senate in 2016 after serving as California's attorney general and before that, as district attorney for San Francisco. At 55, she is 22 years younger than Biden. She provides the ticket with vitality, diversity — Harris also is of Indian descent — and a polished No. 2, something that could prove vital given Biden's shaky public appearances of late and his history of gaffes. It's unlikely the campaign will sweat any debate between Harris and Vice President Mike Pence.
Harris was viewed as a moderate in the large field of Democratic nominees, although she is sufficiently progressive. She endorsed “Medicare for All” soon after announcing her candidacy, and backs strong climate-related legislation and other progressive causes. The head of the Oklahoma Democratic Party said Harris “is decidedly left” and an excellent fit for a Biden campaign that has steadily moved in that direction.
Harris has shown a concerning willingness to bend the Constitution to her wishes, saying during her campaign she would use executive action to enact changes on gun control, immigration and prescription drug pricing. However, longtime
Democratic pollster and political consultant Doug Schoen is among those who feel Harris is the exact right choice.
Writing at The Hill in advance of Biden's announcement, Schoen said Biden needed to choose someone with “the ability, stature and experience” to assume the presidency if needed, someone who could unify the party's centrists and progressives and attract independent voters, and someone who could excite minority and younger voters. “Harris is the candidate who fits the criteria,” Schoen wrote.
“No other candidate or member of Congress besides Harris has the ability, stature and experience to be on the ticket …,” he wrote. “In my view, the only other choice better than Harris that would effectively guarantee victory is Michelle Obama.”
Obama was first lady to the nation's first Black president. A Biden-Harris victory in November would produce the first female vice president and give Biden someone who doesn't mind taking off the gloves when warranted. The next 81 days should be interesting.